LONDON (Reuters) – The number of COVID-19 cases in Britain surged by 35,928 on Sunday, official data showed, the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic.

There were also 326 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, lower than the 534 recorded on Saturday.

The government has toughened restrictions in London and southeast England to try to curb the spread of a new, fast-spreading variant of the virus.