Another 58,784 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in the country, according to official figures released Monday.
It was the seventh day in a row that daily new cases have topped 50,000 in Britain. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,713,563, the data showed.
Another 407 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 75,431, it showed.
Meanwhile, Britain's coronavirus alert level is likely to be raised from Level Four to Level Five, according to Sky News, quoting government sources.
Level Five or "red" means there is a "material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed" and there should be "extremely strict social distancing".
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised address at 2000 GMT on Monday to set out "further steps" to fight the spread of COVID-19, according to a Downing Street spokesman.
Earlier on Monday, Johnson said there is "no question we will have to take tougher measures," pledging that the British government would "do everything we can to keep the virus under control."
There are "tough, tough" weeks ahead in the fight against COVID-19, the prime minister said during a visit to a vaccination center as Britain on Monday started the national rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
London and many other parts of England have already been under the highest Tier Four restrictions, which require residents in the areas to stay at home, with limited exemptions.
Under the Tier Four rules, people are also urged to work from home when they can, and should not enter or leave those areas. People should also not mix with anyone outside their own household, apart from support bubbles.
Also on Monday, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland would enter a new lockdown from midnight on Monday, as well as a shutdown of schools until Feb. 1.
