Coronavirus latest: Two new confirmed cases reported in Luton

Two new instances of coronavirus have been confirmed in Luton today (Friday) according to Public Health England.

The total number of cases in the borough now stands at 1,723.

Elsewhere in the county, Central Bedfordshire has 1,350 (+2) cases, while Bedford's figure stands at 1,428 (+6).

There have been 331,644 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, rising by 1,276.

The number of COVID-19 associated UK deaths has been recorded as 41,486, rising by nine, - according to Public Health England.

Nationally, the death toll has been 'recalculated' by officials. The new count is based on a new definition of who has died from Covid-19.

Previously, people in England who died at any stage following a positive test, regardless of the cause of their death, were counted in the figures.

However, there is now a cut off point of 28 days from the first laboratory-confirmed positive COVID test.

The Public Health England COVID-19 dashboard experienced technical difficulties on Wednesday, the data is now available.

The figures for the number of patients recovered from COVID-19 have not been released by Public Health England.