COVID-19 cases in Dorset are “rising quickly again” with the county facing its highest number of patients in a hospital bed with the virus so far this year.

Public Health Dorset says its data only includes cases confirmed by PCR and reported positive lateral flow tests, and that the “true figures” are likely to be higher with fewer people now testing.

A spokesperson said: “Prevalence in the community is very high and there is an increased risk that you could catch Covid-19. The number of patients in hospitals across Dorset has also risen from 80 to 131 in the past week.

“Although the legal requirement to self-isolate has been removed, everyone should take responsibility to do the right thing to protect others and reduce pressure on services.”

Latest data for the seven days to March 12 shows there were 3,045 confirmed cases in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area – an increase of 1,781 from the last update on March 11.

Cases in the rest of Dorset rose by 1,615 to 3,268.

Of these, 131 patients currently occupy hospital beds in Dorset – compared to 80 in the March 11 update.

The latest case rates per 100,000 people were 767 in the BCP area and 860.5 in wider Dorset. The previous week, these were 448.6 in BCP and 425.2 in wider Dorset.

In Dorset, 90 per cent of people aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccination – with 74.8 per cent having their booster or third dose.