OVER 150 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Dorset over the last 24 hours.

Data released by the government shows that 156 people have tested positive for the virus in the county in the 24 hours leading up to 4pm on Thursday November 19.

Of those cases, 114 were reported within the BCP Council area, taking the total since the start of the pandemic to over 6,500 to 6,516.

Within the past week, 947 cases were confirmed in BCP, meaning that the area’s infection rate of 239.5 per 100,000.

Meanwhile, in the Dorset Council area, 42 people tested positive in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 2,898.

In the seven days preceding November 13, 420 cases were confirmed, a rate of 111 per 100,000.

Elsewhere, in the New Forest, 19 cases were confirmed for the second day running, taking the total to 1,677.

Records show that 282 people tested positive within the past seven days in the New Forest area, an infection rate of 156.6 per 100,000 people.