ALMOST 450 new coronavirus cases have been recorded across Dorset within the last 24-hour period, according to the latest statistics - as the county reaches a grim milestone of more than 43,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.

The latest Government figures show 447 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the county in the 24 hours leading up to 4pm on Thursday, July 15.

In the Dorset Council area, 127 new cases were reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 13,847 cases confirmed across the area.

The rolling seven-day period for the Dorset Council area is 581 cases, with a case rate of 153.5 per 100,000 people.

There has been a total of 320 new cases recorded across the BCP Council, taking the total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic to 29,536.

The rolling seven-day period for the BCP is 979 cases, with a case rate of 247.6 per 100,000 people.

During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been 43,383 cases of Covid-19 confirmed across Dorset.

Elsewhere, the New Forest area recorded 107 new coronavirus cases. The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic stands within the New Forest at 7,319.

The seven-day total for New Forest is 341, with a case rate of 189.4 per 100,000 people.

Across the UK, there has been a total of 48,553 new cases. There have been 5,281,098 confirmed cases recorded in the UK since the start of the pandemic.