150 further coronavirus cases and two more deaths recorded in Newcastle

The number of coronavirus cases in Newcastle increased by 150 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 40,236 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Newcastle when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on August 26 (Thursday), up from 40,086 on Wednesday.

The rate of infection in Newcastle now stands at 13,114 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 10,193.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 37,962 over the period, to 6,628,709.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Newcastle.

The dashboard shows 466 people had died in the area by August 26 (Thursday) – up from 464 on Wednesday.

It means there have been three deaths in the past week, which is the same as the previous week.

They were among 6,303 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 Newcastle.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

The figures also show that three in five people in Newcastle have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 166,280 people had received both jabs by August 25 (Wednesday) – 61% of those aged 18 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 77% of people aged 16 and above had received a second dose of the jab.

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