The Coronavirus could hospitalise over 7 million people in the next year, officials have said.
In a leaked document, officials said that the scenario is likely, and that hospital and health workers may not all be tested for the virus.
“Laboratory capacity is growing steadily but remains under significant demand pressures,” the documents said.
Dr Susan Hopkins, deputy director of PHE’s national infection service, said: “PHE used reasonable worse-case scenario figures, to restate the importance for people with symptoms to stay at home, including health care workers in order to reduce the spread of the virus.”
The document said, specifically, that the virus has the chance of circulating next spring.
