Emergency patients face being turned away by the NHS in December if the rampant rise in infections is not brought under control, Whitehall sources warned last night.
The prime minister has been told A&E departments will face unbearable pressure as the virus “runs riot” across all age groups. It is this fear that led to last night’s dramatic announcement by Boris Johnson of a new national lockdown.
Hospitals are already reporting a stark rise in admissions of younger women.
The number of virus patients in hospital has doubled in two weeks, with 10,918 patients being treated by the NHS. Yesterday nearly 1,000 of them were on ventilators. At the present rate of a doubling every fortnight, there will be more than 20,000 patients in hospital