Covid restrictions in England must be reintroduced to avoid hospitals becoming overwhelmed this winter, a health service membership body warned.

The NHS Confederation urged the government to implement its Plan B strategy to protect a health service that is “right at the edge”.

It comes after sharply rising cases in the UK. Deaths, however, are well below the winter peak, according to a BBC report.

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The government urged more booster jabs instead.

Plan B is a set of measures if the NHS is under “unsustainable pressure”, and if Plan A is not enough.

Plan B:

  • Compulsory face covers in certain places
  • People working from home
  • Vaccine passports

Plan A (currently in place)

  • Offering booster jabs to some 30 million people
  • Vaccine availability for 12-15-year-olds
  • Face covers in crowded places
  • Encouraging taking the flu jab

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National figures

The latest data for people testing positive for Covid daily (per 100,000) was more than 43,700, up 16.1 per cent on the last seven days.

Deaths within 28 days of a positive test were 223 daily, up 14.6 per cent.

Patients admitted were 921 daily, up 10 per cent.

Local figures

Daily new cases in Aylesbury Vale, 208; Chiltern, 134; South Bucks, 72; Wycombe, 132.

Daily new cases in Bucks on Oct 19 were 546. Total cases, 62,448.

The current weekly rate (per 100,000) was 533.

The latest R number for the South East is estimated at 0.9-1.1 with a daily infection growth rate range of -1 per cent to +2 per cent, as of October 15.