The number of new covid-19 cases in Bristol and the surrounding area has risen slightly, putting an end to a run of low figures equating to less than 1,000.
Four authority regions in the West of England (City of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire) have reported a total of 1,190 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to Gov.uk. The City of Bristol has, as is usually the case, seen the highest number of daily positive tests - 447 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 137,660 since the pandemic began.
South Gloucestershire follows, with 349 people having tested positive in South Gloucestershire in the past 24 hours on record, bringing the total to 77,701. Next is North Somerset where, in the past 24 hours accounted for in the figures, 232 new cases have been reported, bringing the total to 52,546.
READ MORE: Covid-19 LIVE: 'No more free PCR and lateral flow tests as of next week'
Meanwhile 162 people have tested positive in Bath and North East Somerset, bringing the total since March 2020 to 48,486. Nationally the figures reveal that 46,186 people have tested positive in the UK in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 18,393,951.
England's positive tests were reported to make up the majority - 36,471 - and bring the total for the country to 15,684,719. These figures come on a day when it was reported that PCR and lateral flow tests will no longer be given away for free.
According to a report from LBC this afternoon (February 15), free PCR and lateral flow tests will be scrapped next week as the Government continues work on its 'living with Covid strategy'. It will mean that anyone wishing to test their Covid status will have to pay for tests.
This reportedly includes vulnerable people, schoolchildren and even NHS and care workers and comes despite a warning from the Department of Health, which said just this morning that "testing continues to play an important role in helping people live their day to day lives, keep businesses running and keep young people in school".
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Deaths in the UK are reported as follows:
- Deaths within 28 days of positive test - 234 reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 159,839. In England these figures stand at 214 and 139,228 respectively.
- Deaths with Covid-19 on the death certificate - 1,390 reported in the past week, bringing the total to 181,424. In England these figures stand at 1,162 and 153,500 respectively.
According to the Gov.uk official website, there have been no deaths reported in Bath and North East Somerset in the past 24 hours, nor have there been any new deaths reported in the City of Bristol.
One death has been reported in both North Somerset and South Gloucestershire in the past 24 hours and, for England as a whole, 214 new deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours.
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