Fourth straight week of zero coronavirus deaths in the New Forest

THERE have been no coronavirus deaths reported in the New Forest for the fourth week in a row.

The death toll remains at 131 so far this year, according to the regular Tuesday update from the Office for National Statistics.

In the BCP Council area, which includes Christchurch, there were also no deaths reported, leaving the total number of fatalities in the conurbation at 189.

The latest weekly figures relate to deaths that occurred up to 7th August but were registered up to 15th August.

According to separate figures from the government, nationally the death toll on Tuesday stood at 41,369.

Further government statistics on Tuesday showed there have been 474 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the New Forest in total. This is a rise of nine compared with last week's figures.

The total confirmed cases for the BCP area was 858, a rise of 18 from last week.

The regional R rates – or the average number who get infected from someone with the coronavirus – stood at 0.8-0.9 in the south-east and 0.8-1 in the south-west. A rate of more than one indicates the epidemic is growing.

For local information visit www.hants.gov.uk/coronavirus