The number of coronavirus cases in Test Valley increased by 180 in the last 24 hours that data is available for, official figures show.

A total of 39,581 cases had been confirmed in Test Valley when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated yesterday (April 1), up from 39,401 on Thursday.

From yesterday, free coronavirus testing has ended for millions of people in England with most people now needing to shop on the high street for paid-for tests if they want them.

However, it will continue during April in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and until the summer in Wales.

The cumulative rate of infection in Test Valley, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 31,126 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 31,591.

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 69,449 over the period, to 21,216,874.

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

The dashboard shows 230 people had died in the area by yesterday – which was unchanged from Thursday.

It means there have been two deaths in the past week, which is an increase on one the previous week.

They were among 21,176 deaths recorded across the South East.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Test Valley.

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 three-quarters of people in Test Valley have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 86,476 people had received a booster or third dose by Thursday – 74 per cent of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 102,311 people (88 per cent) had received two jabs by that date.

Across England, 67 per cent 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.

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