MORE than 400 new coronavirus cases have been recorded across Dorset within the last 24-hour period, according to latest statistics.

The latest Government figures show 408 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the county in the 24 hours leading up to 4pm on Thursday, August 12.

In the Dorset Council area, 178 new cases were reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 18,223 cases confirmed across this area.

The rolling seven-day period for the Dorset Council area is 1,151 cases, with a case rate of 303.1 per 100,000 people.

There has been a total of 230 new cases recorded across the BCP Council area, taking the total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic to 37,398.

The rolling seven-day period for the BCP is 1,915 cases, with a case rate of 482.4 per 100,000 people.

During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been 55,621 cases of Covid-19 confirmed across Dorset.

Elsewhere, the New Forest area recorded 63 new coronavirus cases. The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic stands within the New Forest at 9,269.

The seven-day total for New Forest is 491 with a case rate of 273.3 per 100,000 people.

Across the UK, there have been 33,074 new cases bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 6,179,506.