NEARLY 600 new coronavirus cases have been recorded across Dorset in the last 24-hour period, according to latest figures.

The latest Government figures show 599 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the county in the 24 hours leading up to 4pm on Tuesday, October 19.

In the Dorset Council area, 315 new cases were reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 30,713 cases confirmed across this area.

The rolling seven-day period for the Dorset Council area is 1,807 cases, with a case rate of 475.8 per 100,000 people.

There has been a total of 284 new cases recorded across the BCP Council area, taking the total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic to 48,956.

The rolling seven-day period for the BCP is 1,482 cases, with a case rate of 373.3 per 100,000 people.

During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been 79,669 cases of Covid-19 confirmed across Dorset.

Elsewhere, the New Forest area recorded 169 new coronavirus cases. The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic stands within the New Forest at 14,546.

The seven-day total for New Forest is 849 with a case rate of 472.6 per 100,000 people.

Across the UK, there has been a total of 43,738 new cases, meaning there have been 8,541,192 confirmed cases recorded in the UK since the start of the pandemic.