The United Kingdom posted a record increase of 53,135 COVID-19 cases across the country and 414 deaths in the past 24 hours, the government's count showed on Tuesday.
"Today (Tuesday, December 29 ) there were 53,135 new #COVID19 positive cases reported across the UK," Public Health England tweeted.
"We are continuing to see unprecedented levels of COVID-19 infections across the UK, which is of extreme concern particularly as our hospitals are at their most vulnerable," said Dr Susan Hopkins, Senior Medical Advisor for Public Health England.
This takes the coronavirus tally to nearly 2,800,000 with 71,386 fatalities. On Monday, the country's health authorities registered 41,385 new cases and 357 deaths across all four constituents.
This comes after a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus is believed to have mutated in England's southeast which forced many nations to suspend flights from the UK.
Parts of UK, including London, are under the strictest level of lockdown and under other precautionary measures.
( With inputs from ANI )
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