TWO more covid related deaths have been recorded in Northumberland in the last 24 hours as the number of cases increased by 234 official figures show.

A total of 35,605 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Northumberland when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on September 28 (Tuesday), up from 35,371 on Monday.

The rate of infection in Northumberland now stands at 10,995 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 11,654.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 34,520 over the period, to 7,736,235.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Northumberland.

The dashboard shows 745 people had died in the area by September 28 (Tuesday) – up from 743 on Monday.

It means there have been six deaths in the past week, which is a decrease of eight the previous week.

They were among 6,541 deaths recorded across the North East.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Northumberland.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

The figures also show that nearly nine in 10 people in Northumberland have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 238,554 people had received both jabs by September 26 (Sunday) – 85% of those aged 16 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 82% of people aged 16 and above had received a second dose of the jab.

Unlike at the local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.