A TOTAL of 86 people have tested positive for coronavirus across Dorset in the past 24 hours.

The number of recorded coronavirus cases in the Dorset Council area increased by 21 and by 65 in the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole (BCP) Council area.

Public Health England figures show that 953 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Friday in Dorset, up from 932 the same time on Thursday and 1,684 tested in the BCP area, up from 1,619.

The rate of infection in Dorset now stands at 252 cases per 100,000 people and 426 in the BCP area, far lower than the England average of 873.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 13,864 over the period, to 575,679.

Dorset's cases were among the 22,123 recorded across the South West, a figure which rose by 644 over the period.

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

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.