NHS braced as COVID-19 cases spike across Britain

The United Kingdom's National Health Service is bracing for a massive spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations triggered by changes in behavior and new strains of the novel coronavirus.

The flare-up has already begun, the UK Health Security Agency said, with the latest data showing COVID-19 cases shot up by 32 percent in England in a single week.

But Jenny Harries, the organization's chief executive, told the BBC the worst may be yet to come.