151 further coronavirus cases in Gateshead

The number of coronavirus cases in Gateshead increased by 151 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

A total of 62,968 cases had been confirmed in Gateshead when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 15 (Tuesday), up from 62,817 on Monday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Gateshead, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 31,180 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 29,547.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 119,229 over the last 24 hours, to 19,820,181.

This figure includes cases not reported by Public Health Scotland yesterday due to a technical issue.

There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Gateshead.

The dashboard shows 567 people had died in the area by March 15 (Tuesday) – which was unchanged from Monday.

It means there has been one death in the past week, which is a decrease on two the previous week.

They were among 7,983 deaths recorded across the North East.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Gateshead.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death, so some areas might see their figures revised down.

The figures also show that nearly two-thirds of people in Gateshead have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 112,811 people had received a booster or third dose by March 14 (Monday) – 62% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 145,176 people (80%) had received two jabs by that date.

Across England, 66% of people aged 12 and above had received a booster.

Unlike at local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.