Hospitals across the UK are being told to prepare to face the same Covid pressures as the NHS in London and south-east England.

Senior doctor Prof Andrew Goddard said the virus’s highly infectious new variant was spreading nationwide.

Case numbers were “mild” compared with where he expected them to be next week, he said, with doctors “really worried”.

It comes as a further 57,725 people have tested positive for Covid – a new daily high.

This is the fifth day in a row new daily cases have been over 50,000 and brings the total number of cases to 2,599,789.

Another 445 deaths, of people who had tested positive within the previous 28 days, were reported on Saturday – bringing the total number of deaths to 74,570, according to government figures.