ANOTHER eight people in Herefordshire have tested positive for coronavirus, latest figures show.

Public Health England figures show that since the start of the pandemic 1,146 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Herefordshire.

The total, as of 9am on Thursday (October 15), was up from 1,138 the same time on Wednesday.

The overall rate of infection in Herefordshire now stands at 594 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 1,017.

The graph below shows the number of cases in Herefordshire by date of test, and not the day when the cases were published by PHE. There can be a few days while waiting for tests results to be returned from laboratories.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 18,978 over the period, to 673,622.

Herefordshire's cases were among the 58,241 recorded across the West Midlands, a figure which rose by 1,240 over the period.

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

It comes as the coronavirus death toll at hospitals in Herefordshire rose to 59 in figures released on Thursday.

READ MORE: Coronavirus death toll at Wye Valley NHS Trust rises

The Government also said a further 138 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday. This brings the UK total to 43,293.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 58,500 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

CORONAVIRUS LATEST:

Rates for new Covid-19 cases in England remain highest in the 10-19 and 20-29 age groups, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.

Among 20 to 29-year-olds, the rate was 252.6 cases per 100,000 people in the week to October 11, up from 232.1 in the previous week.

The rate among 10 to 19-year-olds was 245.2 per 100,000, down from 269.8.

By contrast the rate for the 70-79 age group was 54.7, up from 43.3, while for people aged 80 and over it was 76.6, up from 60.9.