THE rate of new coronavirus infections continues to climb in Hampshire, although the lowest daily increase for a week.

Eighteen Hampshire people have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the latest figures this afternoon. There were no new cases reported in the Winchester City Council area.

There were 5,551 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in the Hampshire County Council area as of 4pm today, up from 5,533, reported on Tuesday.

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

The number of confirmed cases in Winchester is at 523, the same as yesterday, with a rate of 418.9 per 100,000 people.

The rate of infection in Hampshire stands at 401.5 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average, shown this afternoon, as 549.2.

Today there have now been 358,138 cases of the virus across the UK – an increase of 2,919 in the last 24 hours.

The number of deaths in Hampshire hospitals remains at 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; 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 8 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in England to 41,594, according to the ONS website this afternoon.

In today's coronavirus news:

A new interactive map has been launched which highlights the number of coronavirus cases affecting neighbourhoods across England.

Read more on that here