Christmas Day to be heaviest Covid day so far for England's hospitals
by Josh Halliday and Pamela Duncan from on (#5C0DC)
Exclusive: April peak of 18,974 coronavirus patients expected to be surpassed in days
Hospitals in England will be treating more coronavirus patients on Christmas Day than at any point in the pandemic, official data suggests, leading to fresh concern about the ability of the NHS to cope with the surge in cases over winter.
At the height of the first wave in mid-April, Covid patient numbers in England's hospitals peaked at 18,974 but this is expected to be surpassed within days. The number increased by more than 1,000 in a day on Monday for the first time since the height of the pandemic, Guardian analysis shows, to a total of 17,709.
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