The UK has announced more than 10,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time since mass testing began.
There were 12,872 new cases, while a further 49 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
However, the government said a technical issue meant previously-unannounced cases from the past week had been added to the day’s total.
It comes after data released this week suggested infections may be increasing more slowly than in previous weeks.
This data was based on weekly testing among a sample of people in the community to get an idea of how many people in England have the virus at any time.
But the government also closely watches the daily number of positive cases, as it provides the most up-to-date snapshot.
However, it published a cautionary message on its “data dashboard”, explaining that the totals reported over the coming days would include some cases from the previous week, “increasing the number of cases reported”.
The daily total saw a significant rise from 4,044 on Monday to a then-high of 7,143 on Tuesday. However, over the next four days the daily total remained stable – varying between 6,914 and 7,108 – before the big leap in numbers announced on Saturday.
The figures announced on Saturday would also have been partially inflated by the fact that 264,979 tests were processed the previous day, the third highest there has been so far in a single 24-hour period.
On the same day, France recorded 16,972 new cases – a new daily high for the country.
On Saturday tighter restrictions came into force in parts of northern England after a spike in coronavirus cases.
It is now illegal to meet people indoors from other households in the Liverpool City Region, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Warrington.
It means than a third of the UK is now under heightened restrictions.