MORE than 20 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Dorset in the last 24 hours.

A total of 22 people have been confirmed as having the virus across the BCP and Dorset Council areas in the past day.

The latest data on the government website shows 15 new cases in the Dorset Council area up to just before 4pm on Sunday, September 6.

This means that since the start of the pandemic, 685 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Dorset Council area.

The rate per 100,000 of the population is 181.

In the BCP Council area, seven new cases have been confirmed bringing the total number of people who have tested positive during the pandemic to 932. The rate is 235.8.

In the New Forest, a further five cases have been confirmed bringing the total to 517 cases overall. The rate stands at 287.1.

Data released by NHS England on Sunday afternoon showed another three patients have died with Covid-19 in hospitals in England.

The total number of confirmed reported deaths has risen to 29,607.

NHS England said the patients were aged between 69 and 89-years-old and all had known underlying health conditions.

None of the deaths occurred in hospitals in the south west.

The last death in a Dorset hospital occurred at Poole Hospital on July 30.

A total of 157 people have died with the coronavirus in hospitals in Dorset since the start of the pandemic.