THE number of people who have tested positive for Covid in Cumbria has increased by 66 over the last 24 hours.

Official figures have confirmed the increase.

Public Health England figures show that 10,335 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Wednesday, December 2, in Cumbria.

The county total has gone up from 10,269 the same time on Tuesday.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.

The rate of infection in Cumbria now stands at 2,067 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 2,535.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 16,170 over the period, to 1,659,256.

Cumbria's cases were among the 309,085 recorded across the North West, a figure which rose by 1,719 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.