Coronavirus cases in Northamptonshire increase by 27 in 24-hours

The number of recorded coronavirus cases in Northamptonshire increased by 27 during a 24-hour spell earlier this week, official figures showed.

Public Health England figures showed that 5,119 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday in Northamptonshire, up from 5,092 the same time the previous day.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government’s mass testing programme.

The rate of infection in Northamptonshire now stands at 680 cases per 100,000 people, in line with the England average of 680. Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 7,143 over that same period, to 446,156.

Northamptonshire’s cases were among the 32,676 recorded across the East Midlands, a figure which rose by 349.