Covid-19 cases in Central Bedfordshire increased by a fifth in the past week - with 23 more coronavirus cases diagnosed in the last 24 hours

The number of recorded coronavirus cases in Central Bedfordshire increased by 23 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

And Central Beds Council is asking everyone to play their part in controlling the spread.

A statement from the council said: "Latest figures show that cases of Covid-19 are continuing to increase in our area including the new Variant of Concern.

"Over the last week (week ending 26 May), cases have increased by a fifth to 115 new cases (39.8 per 100,000), which is up by 18 from the previous week (97) and up 61 from the week before, when we only had 54 cases.

"While our case numbers remain much lower than Bedford (362 cases, 208.9 per 100,000) or other areas of the country where the new variant has been spreading, our case numbers are going in the wrong direction so we must not be complacent. No-one wants to see another outbreak so we all need to play our part to control the spread."

Public Health England figures show that 16,315 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Thursday (May 27) in Central Bedfordshire, up from 16,292 the same time on Wednesday.

The health body recently changed the way it records the figures.

Cases identified through a positive lateral flow test – those which can deliver results within half an hour – will no longer be counted if the person then takes a PCR test, which is sent to a lab to be checked, and receives a negative result within three days.

These cases are now being removed daily.

The rate of infection in Central Bedfordshire now stands at 5,652 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 6,938.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 3,380 over the period, to 4,473,677.

Central Bedfordshire's cases were among the 392,852 recorded across the East of England, a figure which rose by 224 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.