The Dorset Council area has one of the lowest rates of cornonaviris cases in the country, according to the latest figures.

A total of 343 people have tested positive for the virus which equates to a rate of 91.1 per 100,000 of population.

Neighbouring Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is also relatively low with 441 confirmed cases equating to a rate of 111.4 per 100,000 people.

The figures are compiled by local authority area. Of the Upper Tier larger local authority areas only Rutland and North East Lincolnshire have lower rates than Dorset with 60.5 and 86.3 per 100,000 respectively.

The lowest rate with smaller Lower Tier council areas taken into account is Mendip with a rate of 42.7.

The areas with the highest concentration of cases among Upper Tier local authorities are Sunderland with 457 and Gateshead with 453. The highest overall is South Lakeland with a rate of 482 per 100,000.

Town councils are not taken into account so there is no breakdown for individual towns in Dorset.

Meanwhile, in the Dorset Council area, three new cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing the total to 343.

No new cases have been confirmed in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area, leaving the total at 441.

It means a total of 784 people are confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 since the outbreak began.

A total of 5,614 people tested positive across the UK bringing the total to 206,715.

With widespread testing now taking place across the country it is likely these numbers will rise.

The number of people who have died at Dorset's hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus has also risen.

As of yesterday three more patients have died, two at Poole Hospital and one under the care of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It brings the totals at the two trusts to 43 and 58 respectively.

There have been no further deaths reported at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, where 23 people have died, or at Dorset Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where 13 are known to have died.

It means 137 people have died in hospitals across Dorset since the outbreak began.