The UK has recorded the highest daily total of lab-confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads.
Official figures show there had been 78,610 new cases recorded as of 9am on Wednesday.
It is the highest figure announced since mass testing began in summer last year.
British prime minister Boris Johnson is set to hold a press conference from Downing Street later on Wednesday.
More than 11 million people have now tested positive for the disease in the UK, which has a total population of around 67 million.
With a new highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus surging across Britain, Mr Johnson has warned of a "tidal wave" of infections.
However, he suffered a blow to his authority on Tuesday when suffered the biggest rebellion of his premiership when more than 100 lawmakers voted against measures to curb the increasing spread of the disease.
Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, earlier called the Omicron variant "probably the most significant threat" since the start of the pandemic.
"The numbers that we see on data over the next few days will be quite staggering compared to the rate of growth that we've seen in cases for previous variants," she told a parliamentary committee.
Harries said that Omicron had the potential to put the national health service "in serious peril" because of the speed at which infections were increasing.
The new variant of the virus has a doubling time under two days in most regions in Britain, with its growth rate was being notable in London and Manchester in particular.
More than 10,000 cases of Omicron have been recorded, with at least 10 people hospitalised. One person has died after contracting the variant, which is set to become the dominant strain in London.
-Additional reporting from Reuters
