Over 50,000 COVID-19 cases recorded in UK on Tuesday

The UK added a record more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, as hospitalization exceeded the country's peak in Spring.

Although some of the 53,135 cases recorded were due to a backlog from the holidays, the figures were "largely a copy of a real increase," said Dr Susan Hopkins, a senior pharmaceutical advisor for Public Health England.

Dr Hopkins said it was critical to reduce contacts to bring down infections despite being difficult at the end of the year.

"Our NHS is facing unique pressures due to coronavirus," Hancock tweeted. "We must suppress this disease to protect our NHS & save lives until the vaccine can keep us safe. Thank you to everyone for following the rules in those difficult times."

The UK is grappling with a new variant of coronavirus that experts say transmits more easily.

This mutated variant of the virus, officials said, forced the UK to backtrack on relaxing restrictions over the holidays. It has already been found in several European nations and experts say it is likely now in most EU countries.

Across Europe, many countries have required restrictions. Germany was locked down over the holidays while Austria held its third lockdown on December 26th.

France, meanwhile, could issue a curfew from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am in the most impacted regions. The prevailing curfew starts at 8 pm.

Health minister Olivier Véran told France 2 that for the past three weeks France had hit a hill of around 15,000 daily infections, but in four regions, they were proposing a stricter curfew rather of regional lockdowns.

It comes as the country's scientific assembly said that an "uncontrolled rebound" of cases was "probable" after the holidays.

The French administration had allowed people to travel over the holidays and recommended no more than six adults meet during the holiday season.