The United Kingdom recorded 17,540 new daily cases of Covid-19, up from the 14,162 it reported yesterday, according to government data.
It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 561,815.
A further 77 people died after testing positive for the virus within 28 days, the data showed. This brings the UK total to 42,592.
The new figures comes as Newcastle University reports that over the past week, more than 1,000 students tested positive for the virus.
A further 12 staff members from its 6,500 employees have had a positive result.
The university, which has 28,000 students, said 1,003 of them tested positive between 1 and 7 October.
A spokesperson said: "This data represents students and staff within Newcastle city with the overwhelming majority of cases from social and residential settings.
"We expected to see cases rise in light of the increase in cases both locally and nationally and all HE institutions have to manage this on an ongoing basis.
"We feel confident that we have appropriate measures in place to protect us all while we are on campus and to reduce the potential for transmission in our community.
"We are reminding our students and staff that we can help keep each other keep safe by following the guidelines and to remember the hand, face and space message."
Meanwhile, pubs and restaurants in coronavirus hotspots across England look set to face fresh restrictions after Downing Street said new data suggests there is "significant" transmission taking place in hospitality settings.
Downing Street said that a "range of measures" is being looked at, with a particular focus on northern England, where it says infection rates are rising fastest.
Ministers are considering fresh financial packages to help areas and industries hardest hit by lockdowns amid widespread calls for support.
But with infection rates soaring in cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle, regional leaders criticised the Government for not consulting them ahead of changes.
Leaked Government documents disclosed that a new three-tier system for restrictions will be announced on Monday before measures come into force on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman said: "We are seeing coronavirus cases rise across the entire country but they are rising faster in the North East and the North West.
"We are keeping the data under close review and we are considering a range of options to reduce the spread of the virus in order to protect communities and to protect the NHS."
He suggested new restrictions on hospitality could be introduced in England as ministers come under pressure to act after Scotland announced fresh restrictions on the hospitality sector.
"Early data does suggest that a significant proportion of exposure to the virus is seen in the hospitality sector, and that is even more pronounced in younger age groups where we have been seeing the most rapid rise in infections," the spokesman said.
"The data is new and we will continue to gather evidence and review it."
He added he is not yet in a position to publish it.
Downing Street also hinted at financial help and did not rule out a fresh furlough scheme for the worst affected industries and per-head funding for local authorities.
"Any decisions we take will not be made lightly; protecting jobs, particularly the two million in the UK's hospitality sector, has been a priority throughout our response to the pandemic," the Prime Minister's spokesman said.
Ministers will announce a new three-tier Local Risk Levels approach to restrictions on Monday before they come into force on Wednesday, according to leaked documents disclosed by the Nottingham Post.
But the papers suggested that, while levels one and two have been signed off, ministers are still debating the details of level three.
Additional reporting Reuters
