The UK's coronavirus death toll has risen by 357 in the past 24 hours, with a staggering 41,385 new cases - a record high.
The previous highest daily infection rate occurred on December 22 when the UK recorded 36,804 new cases.
Today's figures are also an increase from a week ago when the UK suffered 215 deaths and 33,363 new infections last Monday.
The news comes as grim projections show hospitals in the UK could be treating up to 20,000 coronavirus patients by New Year's Eve.
According to the Health Service Journal the estimated number of Covid patients in hospital is increasing by around 250 every day.
The publication has warned that on December 31, NHS England could be treating more people with Covid-19 than it did at the peak of the first coronavirus wave - when 18,974 patients were in hospital on April 12.
Dr Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said it is becoming increasingly difficult for doctors to manage coronavirus patients on hospital wards.
She issued a plea for people to follow the current restrictions, particularly at New Year's - when some may be tempted to meet their friends or family.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has not ruled out the whole of England being moved into Tier 4 to tackle the increase in infections.
The Government is due to review the tier system on December 30 and Mr Gove told the BBC on Monday morning: "We review which tiers parts of the country should be in on the basis of scientific evidence.
"The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) will be making a recommendation to ministers, but I can't pre-empt that because it obviously has to be a judgment based on the medical situation.
"As you quite rightly point out, the NHS is under pressure and these are difficult months ahead."
Meanwhile fears are growing that the Midlands and the North could be hit even worse than London and the South East by the mutant strain of coronavirus.
Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: "Outside of London, the worry at the moment is that all of the same issues are occurring but from a worse 'starting point' as the Midlands/North never really exited the second wave.
"Staff illness is also a major concern now, with suggestions 10% are already affected but that is likely to worsen."
He added the rising number of coronavirus patients in hospital is "extremely worrying".
