UPDATE: Bedford has 24 new cases in 24 hours

As of today (October 20), Bedford has recorded 24 new cases, with a total of 2,071 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

There were no new deaths in the town - or the county.

In Central Bedfordshire, there were 28 new cases of Covid, with a total of 1,974 while Luton has 48, with a new total of 2,711.

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.

Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire has 3,433 cases, Hertfordshire has 8,742 and Milton Keynes has 1,610 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 21,331 and now stands at 762,542. The number of deaths has risen by 241 to 43,967.

The figures come from the Government website which is available for the public to view here