The number of recorded coronavirus cases in Reading increased by 46 since before the weekend, official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 1,608 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Friday (October 30) in Reading, up from 1,562 the same time on Thursday.

Weekend figures have not yet been released.

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In the last seven days available (Friday, October 23 - Friday, October 30), 195 people in Reading were diagnosed with the virus.

One new coronavirus death has also been recorded at Royal Berkshire Trust over the weekend.

NHS England figures show 224 people had died in hospital at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as of 5pm on Sunday (November 1).

That was an increase of one compared to Friday, when there were 223.

It means there have been eight deaths in the past week, up from six the previous week.

The victims were among 3,745 deaths recorded across the South East.

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

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the latest period may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

The rate of infection in Reading now stands at 994 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 1,492.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 24,405 over the period, to 989,745.

Reading Chronicle:

National Covid-19 update - second lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a month-long national lockdown for England on Saturday, October 31.

The lockdown will start at one second past midnight on Thursday, November 5, and is expected to last until Wednesday, December 2.

A new report today suggests thousands of lives would have been saved if Boris Johnson had imposed a short lockdown when experts recommended it in September, a scientist advising the government's coronavirus response has said.

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Professor Andrew Hayward said the move would also have "inflicted substantially less damage" to the economy than the new national lockdown for England, which will be imposed on Thursday.

Read about the national lockdown announcement here.