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

As of today (September 2), Bedford has recorded two new cases, with a total of 1,447 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

Central Bedfordshire also has two new cases, with a total of 1,365 as does Luton, with a new total of 1,737.

There were no deaths recorded for the whole of the county.

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 1,951 cases, Hertfordshire has 4,812 and Milton Keynes has 973 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 338,676. The number of deaths has been recorded as 41,514.

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