The Royal Liverpool University Hospital has declared a critical incident due to “exceptionally high” demand on A&E and patients being admitted to wards.

The hospital said there had been a spike in people with flu and respiratory illnesses going to emergency departments in recent weeks.

The number of people in England’s hospital with flu quadrupled in the last month, according to NHS data.

A spokesperson for the hospital said it had a “comprehensive plan in place” and was “taking all the necessary actions to manage the challenging circumstances”.

“We are working with partner organisations to ensure those that are medically fit can leave hospital safely and at the earliest opportunity,” they added.

The hospital warned some people would experience delays as it prioritises the sickest patients.

People whose case isn’t an emergency are being asked to see their GP, pharmacy or walk-in centre – or call the 111 service for advice.

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is in the city centre and is the biggest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire.

Declaring a critical incident can happen when a hospital is experiencing exceptional demand, or sometimes if there is a serious problem with staffing levels.

It indicates it can’t function as normal and allows it to take extra measures to protect patients, such as prioritising the most unwell people and getting support from other agencies.

It could last hours, a few days, or weeks if necessary.

A critical incident was also declared on Friday by the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board.

It said it had seen almost four times as many inpatients compared with last year and urged people with flu to avoid going to A&E.

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There have been warnings this winter of a so-called “quad-demic”– with flu, vomiting bug norovirus, COVID and RSV circulating at the same time.

The NHS provides vaccinations against three of the four; flu, COVID-19 and RSV (a common cause of chest infection in babies).

Zendaya and Tom Holland are rumoured to be engaged after the 28-year-old actress appeared at the Golden Globes wearing a massive diamond ring on her left ring finger.

They met after working together on 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and confirmed their relationship in 2021.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Zendaya and Holland for comment.

Zendaya chatted to journalists on the Globes red carpet, where she was nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy for her role in the romantic sports drama Challengers.

Despite being pipped to the prize by Demi Moore, who won for her role in body horror The Substance, there was plenty of buzz around Zendaya’s large diamond ring, which was clearly visible throughout the show.

A Los Angeles Times reporter appeared to ask Zendaya about it, holding up her own engagement ring and pointing to it. Zendaya responded by showing her left-hand ring.

The reporter then asked if the actor was engaged and “she kept showing her ring, smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders mysteriously”.

Holland, who is also 28, wasn’t at Sunday’s Globes.

Zendaya wore an orange Louis Vuitton ball gown, and diamond jewellery from Bulgari – for which she’s an ambassador – on the Globes red carpet.

But while the Dune star’s other jewellery items were listed in a press release, there was no mention of the ring on her left finger.

Zendaya, who rose to fame after her breakout role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, became a household star after starring in Euphoria.

Tom Holland, who is the son of British actor/comedian Dominic Holland, won a role in Billy Elliot The Musical as a child, and has gone on to achieve global fame playing Spider-Man in six Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

The Labour Party has deleted an artificial intelligence (AI) generated TikTok featuring a Portuguese-language song with lyrics about having sex with a “naughty young girl”.

The 34-second clip, titled “Labour’s plan to change Britain as animals”, showed AI animals representing key workers while the song Montagem Coral by Brazilian artist DJ Holanda played in the background.

It didn’t take long for viewers to find English translations of the Portuguese lyrics, which reference smoking marijuana, sexual acts and sexist slurs.

The video, which featured a bulldog in a police uniform, a hare as a nurse and a bull in a hi-vis jacket and builder’s helmet, was swiftly removed by Labour when users drew attention to the song’s lyrics in the comments.

A Labour spokesperson said: “The post is an adaptation of a viral social media trend and contains a mix of two music tracks.

“We acknowledge the translation of the lyrics are completely inappropriate. We apologise and the video has now been deleted.”

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The video featured text over each AI-generated animal, detailing the supposed pros of Labour’s policies in each of the sectors being depicted, such as policing, healthcare, energy and housing.

TikTok has increasingly become the platform used by organisations trying to reach younger audiences.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP for Rutland and Stamford, offered a scathing assessment of the TikTok video on X, singling out the home secretary.

She wrote: “Do you think it’s acceptable, Yvette Cooper, for your party to put out videos with lyrics encouraging men to get young girls on drugs so they can have sex with them, and celebrating punching girls in their vaginas? So much for telling us we’ll feel safer with you in charge.”