The number of coronavirus cases in the Forest of Dean increased by 127 over the weekend, official figures show.

A total of 19,501 cases had been confirmed in the Forest of Dean when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on February 28 (Monday), up from 19,374 on Friday.

The cumulative rate of infection in the Forest of Dean, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 22,387 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 28,398.

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 81,936 over the period, to 18,886,701.

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result unless they have coronavirus symptoms.

UK case numbers now include LFT results for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There were no new coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in the Forest of Dean.

The dashboard shows 142 people had died in the area by February 28 (Monday) – which was unchanged from Friday.

It means there have been no deaths in the past week, which is the same as the previous week.

They were among 9,131 deaths recorded across the South West.

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

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death, so some areas might see their figures revised down.

Figures reported on a Monday are likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend.

The figures also show that three-quarters of people in the Forest of Dean have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 57,633 people had received a booster or third dose by February 27 (Sunday) – 73% of those aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

A total of 68,154 people (86%) 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.