People have been urged to wear masks again in crowded and enclosed spaces, amid fears that hospitalisations from coronavirus could hit an 18-month high.
The warning, which came from senior health official Dame Dr Jenny Harries on Sunday (June 3), came just days after it was reported that Manchester's hospitals were among those seeing a huge influx in positive admissions from the virus.
Dr Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, spoke out on BBC's Sunday Morning show on June 3, informing viewers that the current wave of the virus had not yet peaked, as she urged people to wear masks again, wash their hands more frequently and keep their distance from others.
She added it was 'quite likely' that hospitalisations nationally will rise higher than they did in the previous wave. She encouraged people to 'go about their normal lives in a precautionary way' but admitted she has been carrying mask with her wherever she goes.