MORE people have tested positive for coronavirus in Herefordshire over the last 24 hours official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 1,039 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Sunday (October 4) in Herefordshire, up by 11 on 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 Herefordshire now stands at 538.9 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 765.4.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 22,961 over the period, to 502,978.

Herefordshire's cases were among the 46,335 recorded across the West Midlands, a figure which rose by 1,644 over the period.

The sudden leap in numbers was due to an issue in the automated process that transfers positive cases data to PHE, the Government said. 

The issue has now been resolved, but the cases by publish date for October 2 and 4 include 15,841 additional cases with specimen dates between September 25 and October 2 and are therefore artificially high for England and the UK.

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