Coronavirus: UK COVID cases hit highest ever daily figure of 26,688

Another 26,688 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK - the highest daily figure to date.

It is the largest rise since 4 October, when a then-record 22,961 cases were recorded - although that number was inflated because of a system glitch.

A further 191 deaths have also been confirmed within 28 days of a positive test.

The total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the UK now stands at 789,229, while deaths have reached 44,158.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies show there have now been 59,000 deaths registered in the UK where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

The 4 October figure was affected by a simple problem with a Public Health England Excel spreadsheet, causing a delay in the reporting of 15,841 COVID-19 cases in England.

The majority of the missing cases were from the start of October, but the technical issue began on 24 September.

The missed cases were included in the daily cases on 3 October and 4 October, making the numbers higher.

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Wednesday's figures are not known to have been skewed by any such issues.

It follows 21,331 cases and 241 deaths being reported on Tuesday - the latter being the highest number since 258 were reported on 5 June.

However, there is often a delay in the reporting of deaths over a weekend - causing a spike in the early part of the week.

The latest government figures also show that there were 5,828 COVID-19 patients in hospital in England on Tuesday, up from 3,905 a week ago, while 559 were in ventilation beds, up from 441.

A total of 870 patients with confirmed coronavirus were admitted to hospitals in England on Sunday, the latest figure available, compared with 628 a week earlier.

NHS England said a further 94 people have died in hospital in England with coronavirus, bringing that total to 31,275.

Patients were aged between 49 and 97. All but one, aged 71, are understood to have underlying health conditions. The deaths were between 14 October and 20 October.

There have been a further 962 cases in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 38,361.

Public Health Wales said 14 further deaths had been reported, with the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic rising to 1,736.