London: Britain reported 41,385 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, a daily record, as a rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus increases infection rates and the holiday weekend impacted the reporting of some new cases.There were 357 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test, the government's coronavirus statistics portal said."This very high level of infection is of growing concern at a time when our hospitals are at their most vulnerable," said Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director at Public Health England.Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his scientific advisers have said a variant of the coronavirus, which could be up to 70% more transmissible, was spreading rapidly in Britain, although it is not thought to be more deadly or to cause more.