Scotland has recorded 32 coronavirus deaths and 2,762 new cases in the past 24 hours, the latest Scottish Government figures show.

It means the death toll under this daily measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – stands at 8,907.

The daily test positivity rate is 8.2 per cent, up from 7.0 per cent the previous day.

A total of 851 people were in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19 on Thursday, down 57 in 24 hours, with 45 patients in intensive care, down five.

Covid infection levels in England are getting close to the peak seen at the height of the second wave and are mostly being driven by rates among schoolchildren, data shows.

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there are also early signs of a possible increase for people from school Year 12 to age 24.

Overall, one in 60 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to October 9, up from one in 70 the previous week.

One in 60 is the equivalent of about 890,000 people. At the peak of the second wave in early January, around one in 50 was estimated to have coronavirus.

In Wales, around one in 45 people was thought to have Covid-19 in the week to October 9, up from one in 55 the previous week and the highest since estimates began in July 2020.

According to latest Office for National Statistics figures, around one in 10 school students in years 7 to 11 have coronavirus in the week to 9 October.

This is the highest of any other age group.

When modelling the level of Covid-19 infections among different age ranges in England, the ONS said rates have increased for those in school years 7 to 11, people aged 50 to 69, and those aged 70 and over.

50 Eton College students have been placed in isolation after an outbreak of coronavirus in the boarding school.

Around 50 students were told to remain inside their boarding house for two days and return to virtual learning, while the rest of the school were told to put on face masks, take daily Covid tests and assemblies were cancelled.

The college said just one boarding house was self-isolating with students able to go to their own separate garden, gym or return home if they wished.

In a statement, Wales’ Health Minister Eluned Morgan says the welsh government was made aware last week of the UK Health Security Agency’s investigation into higher than expected positive lateral flow tests followed by negative PCR results.

She insisted that the issue does not involve the wider Welsh network, including the IP5 laboratory in Newport that processes the majority of Welsh samples.

NHS Test and Trace will contact anyone who received a test result from the affected lab from 4 October. They will be advised to take another test, in addition to their close contacts.

People who had tests processed at the lab between 8 September and 4 October will also be contacted.

More than a third of care home residents in England were paying for some or all of the care before the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.

36.7% of care home residents were self-funding their care between 2019-20 according to statistics from the Office for National Statistics.

This equates to 143,774 residents contributing to, or funding entirely, their care, while 63.3% (248,153 residents) were state-funded. People who were self-funding care were either paying for it privately or through a charity, the report found.

Additional reporting by PA

The Welsh government has said 4,000 people in Wales received inaccurate test results, Capital reports.

It comes as Immensa Health Clinic in Wolverhampton’s has been suspended pending an investigation.

It’s believed the majority affected in Wales would have taken tests at sites across the Gwent and Cwm Taf Morgannwg areas.

The false negative test results come as England’s top doctor Professor Chris Whitty warned that the NHS will face an “exceptionally difficult” winter, labelling the disappearance of Covid an “impossible dream.”

Speaking to the Royal College of GPs annual conference in Liverpool today, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty spelled out “the tall order” facing the NHS in the coming months.

New NHS statistics today show almost a million 999 calls were made in September and A&E units have seen their busiest September ever.

Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern has the full story below:

According to the UK Health Security Agency, “technical issues” were behind the thousands of false negative test results given to the public.

“As a result of our investigation, we are working with NHS Test and Trace and the company to determine the laboratory technical issues which have led to inaccurate PCR results being issued to people. We have immediately suspended testing at this laboratory while we continue the investigation,” UKHSA said.

UKHSA insisted there were no issues with the PCR test kits or lateral flow test devices.

India announced that it will reopen its borders to tourists from 15 October.

The country’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced that visas will initially be granted only to travellers arriving on chartered flights from 15 October, before being extended to those arriving on commercial flights from 15 November.

No tourist visas have been issued since March 2020, when Prime Minister Modi’s government closed borders to foreign nationals in response to the pandemic.

Our reporter Lucy Thackray has the full story below: