UPDATE: First Covid-19 death in weeks recorded at Bedford Hospital

As of today (September 16), Bedford has recorded two new cases, with a total of 1,525 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

The first coronavirus death in ​over two weeks has also been recorded at Bedford Hospital Trust.

Central Bedfordshire has eight new cases, with a total of 1,432 and Luton has three, with a new total of 1,853.

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 2,100 cases, Hertfordshire has 5,309 and Milton Keynes has 1,046 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 378,219. The number of deaths has risen by 20 to 41,684.

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