LONDON: England reported a record 129,471 new Covid-19 case on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not bring new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus this year.
Data does not include numbers for Scotland and Northern Ireland because of differences in reporting practices during the Christmas holidays.
12,378 cases reported for Wales include data that must usually be reported in previous days.
The previous record of a daily infection was 122.186 on December 24.
Johnson said on Monday, he would not introduce new restrictions in England.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all tightened their rules, such as other European countries facing the surge in omicron cases.
British ministers are waiting for more evidence about how health services are able to overcome the high level of infection after the initial data suggested last week that the omicron variant brings a lower risk of hospital entry.
The government said there were 18 new deaths within 28 days after the positive Covid-19 test – far below the latest trends of more than 100 per day.
The figure had previously been reduced by a national holiday.