The number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England on Sunday was the highest it has been since the beginning of July, figures show.
The latest Government data reveals 153 people with Covid-19 were admitted on Sunday – the most since July 1 when the figure was 201.
It comes as an increasing number of mask dissenters speak out, including Manchester music legends Noel Gallagher and Ian Brown.
The former Oasis guitarist said: “I choose not to wear one. If I get the virus it’s on me, it’s not on anyone else.”
The data, from the Government’s coronavirus dashboard, also shows there were 101 Covid-19 patients in mechanical ventilation beds in England on Tuesday.
It is the first time that figure has been above 100 since July 23, when it was also 101.
There were 866 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospitals in England on Tuesday, the highest number since July 28 when there were 868.
The highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital was in the North West at 269, the highest since 370 on July 22.
This was followed by 190 in the Midlands, 152 in the North East and Yorkshire and 134 in London.
The areas with the fewest coronavirus patients in hospital were the East of England with 35, then 73 in the South East.
The figures show the number of confirmed coronavirus cases at midnight the preceding night at NHS hospital acute trusts with major accident and emergency departments in England.
The data also shows there were no new Covid-19 hospital admissions in Northern Ireland on Sunday, while Scotland had recorded three new coronavirus admissions to hospital on September 2 and Wales recorded 59 admissions on Monday.
However, the Welsh data includes confirmed and suspected cases and is not comparable with the other nations.
The figures should all be treated with caution and are likely to be revised when the data is updated.
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