UPDATE: Bedford has three new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours

As of today (July 17), Bedford has recorded three new cases, with a total of 1,284 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

Central Bedfordshire also has six new cases, with a total of 1,244 and Luton has seven new cases, with a total of 1,465.

Two new coronavirus deaths have also been recorded at Bedford Hospital Trust in the past 24 hours, the latest official figures show.

NHS England figures show 223 people had died in hospital at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust as of 5pm on Thursday (July 16).

That was an increase of two compared to Wednesday, when there were 221.

It means there have been five deaths in the past week, up from three the previous week.

Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire now has a total of 1,704 cases, Hertfordshire has 4,177 and Milton Keynes still has 862 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 now stands at 293,239. The number of deaths has been recorded as 45,233.

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