Positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Bedford

Thursday's figures show Bedford recorded 11 new cases, with a total of 1,593 cases, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

The county has recorded 58 new cases - Bedford has 11 new cases, Central Bedfordshire has 20 new cases, with a total of 1,511 and Luton has 27, with a new total of 1,987.

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.

Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire has 2,202 cases, Hertfordshire has 5,675 and Milton Keynes has 1,116 cases.

Previous data shared by Public Health England relied solely on Pillar 1 (testing from Public Health England and NHS Hospital Trusts), but as of Thursday, July 2, the information includes Pillar 2 (non-clinical and commercial testing).

It has seen a radical overhaul of how coronavirus infection data is presented across the country, with hundreds of new cases emerging in individual authorities.

The new figures are recorded between 5pm the previous day to 5pm.

Nationally, the number of coronavirus cases has risen by 6,634 and now stands at 416,363. The number of deaths has risen by 40 to 41,902.

The figures come from the Government website which is available for the public to view here.Read: Bedford hospitality businesses will have to display QR code as part of coronavirus measures