277 further coronavirus cases and one more death recorded in Newcastle

The number of coronavirus cases in Newcastle increased by 277 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

A total of 99,214 cases had been confirmed in Newcastle when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 22 (Tuesday), up from 98,937 on Monday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Newcastle, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 32,336 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 30,401.

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 94,297 over the period, to 20,413,731.

There was also one more coronavirus death recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Newcastle.

The dashboard shows 583 people had died in the area by March 22 (Tuesday) – up from 582 on Monday.

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

They were among 7,999 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 more than half of people in Newcastle have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 155,149 people had received a booster or third dose by March 21 (Monday) – 52% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 207,543 people (70%) had received two jabs by that date.

Across England, 67% 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.