146 further coronavirus cases and two more deaths recorded in North Tyneside

The number of coronavirus cases in North Tyneside increased by 146 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A Coronavirus testing centre in Dalston, east London. There were a further 6,042 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Saturday, taking the overall number to 429,277. A further 34 deaths were recorded.

The number of coronavirus cases in North Tyneside increased by 146 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 68,447 cases had been confirmed in North Tyneside when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 9 (Wednesday), up from 68,301 on Tuesday.

The cumulative rate of infection in North Tyneside, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 32,770 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 28,953.

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 66,870 over the period, to 19,373,884.

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

The dashboard shows 564 people had died in the area by March 9 (Wednesday) – up from 562 on Tuesday.

It means there have been seven deaths in the past week.

They were among 7,958 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 North Tyneside.

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

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

The latest figures show 126,238 people had received a booster or third dose by March 8 (Tuesday) – 67% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 157,870 people (84%) 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.