There were 157,758 new Covid cases confirmed in England and Scotland in the past 24 hours, government data showed on Monday.
Cases were up 50% in the week from 28 December and 3 January compared with the week before. Monday’s figures for Wales and Northern Ireland will be updated after the bank holiday.
The government said a further 42 people had died in England within 28 days of testing positive for Covid. Deaths last week were up 17% on the previous seven days.
Last Wednesday there were 11,918 patients in hospital with Covid, 868 of whom were on beds with a mechanical ventilator.
On Sunday another 12,121 people in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland received a first dose of Covid vaccine, 15,893 had a second dose and 106,665 had a booster or third dose.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 174,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
