ALMOST 500 new coronavirus cases have been recorded across Dorset within the last 24-hour period, according to the latest statistics.

The latest Government figures show 474 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the county in the 24 hours leading up to 4pm on Friday, July 16.

In the Dorset Council area, 158 new cases were reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 14,005 cases confirmed across the area.

The rolling seven-day period for the Dorset Council area is 589 cases, with a case rate of 155.6 per 100,000 people.

There has been a total of 316 new cases recorded across the BCP Council, taking the total number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic to 29,852.

The rolling seven-day period for the BCP is 1,063 cases, with a case rate of 268.9 per 100,000 people.

During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been 43,875 cases of Covid-19 confirmed across Dorset.

Elsewhere, the New Forest area recorded 88 new coronavirus cases. The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic stands within the New Forest at 7,407.

The seven-day total for New Forest is 374, with a case rate of 207.7 per 100,000 people.

Across the UK, there has been a total of 51,870 new cases. There have been 5,332,371 confirmed cases recorded in the UK since the start of the pandemic.