Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said: “It is concerning to see the number of patients with norovirus hit an all-time high and there is no let up for hospital staff who are working tirelessly to treat more than a thousand patients each day with the horrible bug, on top of other winter viruses.”

Hospital cases of norovirus in England have reached their highest level since records began, with an average of 1,160 patients per day being treated for the vomiting bug last week. The figures, released by NHS England,