UPDATE: Bedford has 25 new cases and one death in 24 hours

As of today (October 21), Bedford has recorded 25 new cases, with a total of 2,096 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

There was one death in the town - bringing the total to 172 - but no deaths in the rest of the county.

In Central Bedfordshire, there were 51 new cases of Covid, with a total of 2,025 while Luton has 59, with a new total of 2,770.

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 now has 3,586 cases, Hertfordshire has 9,011 and Milton Keynes has 1,663 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 26,688 and now stands at 789,229. The number of deaths has risen by 191 to 44,158.

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