THE number of recorded coronavirus cases in Cumbria increased by 18 in the last 24 hours, official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 28,053 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday (April 13) in Cumbria, up from 28,035 the same time on Monday.

The health body recently changed the way it records the figures.

Cases identified through a positive lateral flow test – those which can deliver results within half an hour – will no longer be counted if the person then takes a PCR test, which is sent to a lab to be checked, and receives a negative result within three days.

The rate of infection in Cumbria now stands at 5,611 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 6,795.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 2,471 over the period, to 4,375,814. Cumbria's cases were among the 602,356 recorded across the North West, a figure which rose by 315 over the period.

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