The highest ever daily increase of Covid cases has been reported by the UK, with 41,385 positive tests.
The Government said a further 357 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 71,109.
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 87,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
The Government said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 41,385 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 2,329,730.
But the figures for deaths and cases are likely to be higher as Scotland is not releasing death data between December 24 and 28, and Northern Ireland is not providing either case or death data over the same period.
Commenting on the 41,385 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the UK on Monday, Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England (PHE), said: “This very high level of infection is of growing concern at a time when our hospitals are at their most vulnerable, with new admissions rising in many regions.
“We have all made huge sacrifices this year but we must all continue to play our part in stopping the spread of the virus which is still replicating fast.
“The basics remain very important: wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance from others and abide by the restrictions in place.”
