288 further coronavirus cases in Newcastle

The number of coronavirus cases in Newcastle increased by 288 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

A total of 101,558 cases had been confirmed in Newcastle when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 29 (Tuesday), up from 101,270 on Monday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Newcastle, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 33,100 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 31,243.

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 80,656 over the period, to 20,986,171.

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

The dashboard shows 583 people had died in the area by March 29 (Tuesday) – which was unchanged from Monday.

It means there have been no deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on two the previous week.

They were among 8,037 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, so some areas might see their figures revised down.

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 155,658 people had received a booster or third dose by March 28 (Monday) – 52% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 207,872 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.