262 further coronavirus cases and three more deaths recorded in Brighton and Hove

The number of coronavirus cases in Brighton and Hove increased by 262 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and three more deaths were recorded.

A total of 81,953 cases had been confirmed in Brighton and Hove when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 3 (Thursday), up from 81,691 on Wednesday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Brighton and Hove, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 28,091 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 28,560.

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 45,375 over the period, to 19,074,696.

There were also three more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in Brighton and Hove.

The dashboard shows 462 people had died in the area by March 3 (Thursday) – up from 459 on Wednesday.

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

They were among 20,689 deaths recorded across the South East.

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

The UKHSA cautioned that today's Covid-19 death figures in England include some not reported yesterday, due to a technical issue.

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

The figures also show that more than half of people in Brighton and Hove have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 158,485 people had received a booster or third dose by March 2 (Wednesday) – 55% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 207,390 people (72%) 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.