174 more coronavirus cases diagnosed in Buckinghamshire

Public Health England figures show that 9,580 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday (December 15) in Buckinghamshire, up from 9,406 the same time on Monday.

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 Buckinghamshire now stands at 1,761 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 2,876.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 18,450 over the period, to 1,888,116.

Buckinghamshire's cases were among the 174,645 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 3,122 over the period.

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