The number of recorded coronavirus cases in Buckinghamshire increased by 597 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 19,416 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Thursday (January 7) in Buckinghamshire, up from 18,819 the same time on Wednesday.

READ MORE

How much you could be fined for breaking lockdown rules in England

People who visited hospital to 'take photos of empty car park' amid ongoing Covid crisis branded 'idiots'

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 Buckinghamshire now stands at 3,569 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 4,438.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 52,618 over the period, to 2,889,419.

Buckinghamshire's cases were among the 343,670 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 8,223 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.