THE number of recorded coronavirus cases in Shropshire increased by 38 over the last 24 hours, official figures show.

Public Health England (PHE) figures show that 2,340 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Thursday, October 15, in Shropshire, up from 2,302 the same time on Wednesday.

The health body is now including Pillar Two tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar One tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.

The rate of infection in Shropshire now stands at 724 cases per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic, far lower than the England average of 1,017.

The rate of new cases in Shropshire in the week to Saturday, October 10 was 82.6 per 100,000.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 18,978 over the period, to 673,622.

Shropshire's cases were among the 58,241 recorded across the West Midlands, a figure which rose by 1,240 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.