A TOTAL of 1,293 new Covid cases have been recorded across Dorset and BCP in the last 24 hours.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in the Dorset Council area increased by 727 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

Meanwhile in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) a further 566 positive cases were confirmed and one more death was recorded.

A total of 90,799 cases had been confirmed in the Dorset Council area when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 18 (Friday), up from 90,072 on Thursday.

And in the BCP area a total of 119,322 cases had been confirmed in the same time period, up from 118,756 on Thursday.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 92,135 over the period, to 20,093,762 – though case figures reported in Scotland cover a period of more than 24 hours.

The death toll in the Dorset Council area now stands at 684 deaths to have been recorded by March 18 (Friday) – up from 683 on Thursday.

It means there have been four deaths in the past week, which is an increase on three the previous week.

There was also one more coronavirus death recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

The dashboard shows 1,022 people had died in the area by March 18 (Friday) – up from 1,021 on Thursday.

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

They were among 9,295 deaths recorded across the South West.

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

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

The figures also show that three-quarters of people in Dorset have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 266,041 people had received a booster or third dose by March 17 (Thursday) – 75% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 306,838 people (86%) had received two jabs by that date.

The figures also show that nearly two-thirds of people in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 239,528 people had received a booster or third dose by March 17 (Thursday) – 63% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 296,878 people (78%) had received two jabs by that date.

Across England, 66% of people aged 12 and above had received a booster.

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