Covid: hospitals fight sickness and backlogs as latest wave hits UK

Staff absences adding to workforce problems caused by Brexit, pension disputes and exhaustion, says expert

• Healthcare workers: There's a feeling of powerlessness'

Hospitals are battling staff absences, exhaustion, persistent backlogs and problems discharging patients in the wake of the latest wave of Covid, the Guardian has found, as infection levels continue to rise across the UK.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 2.71 million people in the UK had Covid in the last week of June, an 18% rise on the week before. In England alone, the most recent figures suggest about one in 25 people had a Covid infection.