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.".
According to the latest NHS data, 1,160 hospital beds on average were filled daily last week with patients displaying norovirus-like symptoms, including diarrhoea and vomiting.
Last week, there were on average around 1,755 flu patients in hospital beds each day - including 87 in critical care.
Figures show an average of 13,767 hospital beds per day were filled last week with patients who were fit to be discharged.
The number of patients in hospital in England with the norovirus vomiting bug has reached a record high, new figures show.
