MORE than 700 new cases of Covid have been recorded across Dorset in the past day, according to the latest data.

In the 24 hours up to 4pm on Sunday, December 5, a total of 718 cases have been confirmed across the county.

Of these, 404 new infections have been logged across the BCP Council area.

This means since the start of the pandemic, a total of 64,144 have been recorded across the conurbation.

In the Dorset Council area, 314 people have tested positive giving an overall total of 44,891 cases since the start of the pandemic.

In the last seven days, 2,545 cases have been recorded in the BCP Council area giving a rate of 641.1 per 100,000 people.

Meanwhile, in wider Dorset, 2,153 have been seen in the past week at a rate of 566.9.

In the New Forest, there have been 147 cases in the past day with 988 recorded in the past week at a rate of 550.