WEEKEND UPDATE: Bedfordshire records huge jump in cases with more than 370 people testing positive

Over the weekend, Bedfordshire recorded 371 new cases of coronavirus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

Out of the 371, Bedford has 83 new cases, with a total of 2,873 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, .

There were no deaths in Bedford (182), two deaths in Luton (206) and one death in Central Bedfordshire (244).

In Central Bedfordshire, there were 103 new cases of Covid, with a total of 3,146 while Luton has 185, with a new total of 4,582.

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 6,352 cases, Hertfordshire has 14,885 and Milton Keynes has 2,960 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 24,962 and now stands at 1,369,318. The number of deaths has risen by 168 to 51,934.

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