Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 432 more people in UK hospitals.
England reported 339 deaths, Wales had 35, Scotland recorded 41 and Northern Ireland reported 17.
Last Saturday 393 people died in UK hospitals from Covid-19.
The weekly increase in deaths is just shy of 10%.
Yesterday the UK's coronavirus hospital death toll increased by 403 - a 16% jump on the total reported the Friday before.
England reported 317 fatalities, Wales had 38, Scotland recorded 36 and Northern Ireland had 12.
Hospital deaths had been trending downwards for a fortnight, but they have been climbing again this week.
The death figures were announced amid reports that the Government is grappling with whether to further bolster restrictions over Christmas.
Boris Johnson has met with ministers today to discuss whether England should be put back into lockdown.
It's the second major meeting in two days, as Ministers met yesterday to consider a travel ban on the South East of England.
Ministers met on Friday to decide how a mutant strain of the coronavirus which has ripped through London, Kent and Essex could be controlled, The Telegraph reported.
The gathering came as medics issued a chilling warning that the new strain is 50% more contagious than previous Covid-19 cases.
Today millions more people living in England were placed into the highest coronavirus tier.
Parts of the South including Portsmouth, Hastings and Bedfordshire were bumped up from Tier 2 to Tier 3 due to spiking coronavirus case rates.
Yesterday the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) announced that the R number for the UK was estimated to have risen to between 1.1 and 1.2 - which means the disease is growing again.
