The number of people in hospital with coronavirus could reach “quite scary” levels within weeks, Chris Whitty has said. The chief medical officer said England’s coronavirus crisis could return again surprisingly quickly and the country is “not yet out of the woods”. Bulgaria has banned UK travellers from entering the country due to concerns about the growing number of coronavirus cases in Britain. It has put the UK on its high risk “red zone list” along with Cyprus, Spain, Fiji and Kuwait. Of the 380 local authority areas in the UK, 370 (97%) are now recording Covid-19 rates greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people. This is the highest proportion of areas above this level since late January. There had been a further 51,870 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK, the government said. This is the highest daily figure since 11 January during the UK’s third wave. Numbers of the Delta variant in the UK have risen by 36,800 since last week to a total of 253,049, according to Public Health England’s weekly variant cases data. One in 95 people in private households in England – a total of about 578,000 – are estimated to have had coronavirus last week, official estimates show. Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks. Health bosses in Sunderland have asked staff to postpone holidays as the trust came “under extreme pressure” due to a surge in coronavirus cases. A third (34%) Of people who self-isolated after coming into contact with a positive coronavirus case, around said they had gone on to develop Covid-19 symptoms. Bin collections across England have been hit by the so-called pingdemic as councils have been forced to suspend services because so many staff have been told to isolate by the NHS test-and-trace scheme. Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions on Monday is a threat to the world and provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants, international experts say. England’s R number has stayed roughly the same, according to latest figures released by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). This blog is now closing. Please follow the global coronavirus live blog for updates