A FURTHER eight people have tested positive for coronavirus in Dorset.

Public Health England figures show that 664 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Wednesday in the Dorset Council area, up by two from 662 the same time on Tuesday.

A further six people tested positive in the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole (BCP) area.

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 Dorset now stands at 175 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 520.

The rate in the BCP Council area now stands at 229.9.