A record jump in the number of Covid cases has been recorded.
The Government said that, as of 9am on Sunday, there had been a further 35,928 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 2,040,147.
The Government said a further 326 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Sunday, bringing the UK total to 67,401.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, said: “This sharp and sudden increase is of serious concern. Most of the new cases reported today are concentrated in London and the South East, although it is too early to tell if this is linked to the new variant.
“What we do know is that the way to control this virus is the same, whatever the variant. It simply will not spread if we avoid close contact with others. Wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance from others, and reduce your social contacts.
“By working together we have tackled this virus before. By holding the line over the next few weeks, it is possible we can do so again, as we continue to roll out the vaccine to the most vulnerable.”
Of the 32,155 new positive cases reported for England on Sunday, the overwhelming majority (95%) were tests conducted in the last four days.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 83,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
A further 266 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 46,388, NHS England said on Sunday.
Patients were aged between 42 and 101. All except seven, aged between 53 and 90, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between November 8 and December 19.
Thirteen other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
