185 further coronavirus cases in Gateshead

The number of coronavirus cases in Gateshead increased by 185 over the weekend, official figures show.

A total of 62,035 cases had been confirmed in Gateshead when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 7 (Monday), up from 61,850 on Friday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Gateshead, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 30,718 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 28,783.

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 126,120 over the period, to 19,245,301.

There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Gateshead.

The dashboard shows 565 people had died in the area by March 7 (Monday) – which was unchanged from Friday.

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

They were among 7,941 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.

Figures reported on a Monday are likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend.

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 112,519 people had received a booster or third dose by March 6 (Sunday) – 62% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 144,970 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.