FORTY-TWO more Hampshire people have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 48 hours, according to the latest figures out this afternoon.

There were 5,456 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in the Hampshire County Council area as of 4pm today, up from 5,414, reported on Friday.

The number of confirmed cases in Winchester is now at 518, an increase of three in the last 48 hours with a rate of 414.9 per 100,000 people.

There have been no new deaths reported since the one from the Portsmouth area recorded on Friday.

Today there have now been 347,152 cases of the virus across the UK – an increase of 4,801 in the last 48 hours.

The number of deaths in Hampshire hospitals is 608.

The figure for fatal cases at the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, is 161, the same since June 29.

The figures for the other local county trusts are Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust, 230, up one; Solent NHS Trust, 2; Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, 17; University Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, 198.

Last week the Office for National Statistics, which has been collating numbers for all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community, confirmed there had been no increase in the overall total.

Nationally, a further two people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 41,551, according to the ONS website this afternoon.

The rate of infection in Hampshire stands at 394.6 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 532.4.