Britain on Friday reported a record 1,325 deaths over a 24-hour period from people testing positive for coronavirus, as a surge in cases piled pressure on overstretched health services, forcing London to declare a major incident.
The death toll eclipsed the previous worst of 1,224 recorded on 21 April during the height of the first wave last year, and brings the total number of deaths to 79,833.
The milestone also saw another high of 68,053 new cases registered in the past day, nudging the overall number of COVID-19 infections close to three million.
The government earlier announced that all travellers to Britain will need pre-departure coronavirus tests.
Fears are growing about fast-spreading new variants of the virus, particularly from South Africa, with concerns hospitals could be overwhelmed.
The government this week announced new stay-at-home restrictions, which include school closures, that are expected to last until at least mid-February.
In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a major incident, saying the British capital was "at crisis point" and urgent action was required as beds for COVID patients could run out within weeks.
At the same time, the UK regulator approved US firm Moderna's COVID vaccine - the third to be authorised for use in the country's mass inoculation programme.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said approval for the jab was a boost to the inoculation drive, which has seen 1.5 million vaccinated since early December and aims to reach 15 million by mid-February.
"This is further great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease," he said.
"Moderna's vaccine will allow us to accelerate our vaccination programme even further once doses become available from the spring."
Mutation concern
UK health officials and ministers have described the vaccination roll-out as a head-to-head race against the virus and the vaccination programme as the best hope of a return to normality.
The government is pinning its hopes on the use of vaccines, particularly one developed by Oxford University and drugs firm AstraZeneca, to cut rising infection rates.
New strains are said to be 50 to 70 per cent more transmissible, and have been blamed for the steep rise in cases, amid fears they may be resistant to vaccines.
But researchers at the University of Texas said on Friday that 20 people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech jab were protected against a key mutation found in both the British and South African strains.
In London, though, Mr Khan said COVID cases were now "out of control" running at more than 1,000 per 100,000 people, putting pressure on the state-run health services and emergency services.
Just over 7,000 people were in hospital in the capital in the week to Wednesday - up 27 per cent on the previous seven days and 35 per cent more than during the first wave peak last April.
Mr Khan urged the public to comply with lockdown measures as "if we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die".
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction's restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. News and information is available in 63 languages at .
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: , , , , , , , .
