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Another 33,364 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK in the last 24-hour period.
It follows a daily record of 35,928 new infections reported on Sunday.
215 more deaths have been confirmed within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, down from Sunday’s figure of 326.
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There is great concern about the new strain of coronavirus
The new figures bring the total number of confirmed coronavirus-related cases in the UK to 2,073,511, with 67,616 deaths.
In hospitals in England, 190 deaths were reported among patients aged 41 to 103, and each had tested positive for coronavirus. Eight other deaths were reported without a positive COVID-19 test result.
Wales has reported 10 new deaths, Northern Ireland confirmed seven more and Scotland’s death toll did not increase.
Sunday’s record number of daily cases across the UK was attributed in part to a newly discovered strain of the virus, which is spreading in London and south-east England.
That has prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to enforce new level 4 restrictions in those regions, while the rules have also been tightened in Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland will enter a six-week national lockdown starting on Boxing Day.
Johnson has said that the new strain could increase the R number – the transmission rate – by “0.4 or more.”
Meanwhile, discussed documents government advisers on Friday show 0.4 is at the lower end of the estimate.
