A FURTHER 22 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the Cheshire West and Chester area in the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to Government data.

The increase in the period up to 4.09pm today (September 22), which is in addition to the 24 confirmed cases in yesterday's update, brings the total number for the borough since the pandemic began to 2,453.

The infection rate for Cheshire West and Chester is currently more than 30 cases per 100,000 people.

The figure of 20 cases per 100,000 is the threshold the UK’s governments have used to judge whether returning travellers from foreign countries must endure a 14-day quarantine period.

Meanwhile, the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust once again did not record any deaths of a patient testing positive for the virus in the latest NHS England update.

It has, to date, not registered a death for over nine weeks.

The total number of people who have died in Cheshire hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus stands at 728.

The Countess of Chester Hospital Trust has recorded 227 deaths (last recorded July 18), Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recorded 214 deaths, the last on August 31; East Cheshire NHS Trust 146 (last recorded July 22), and Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 141 (last recorded September 19).

In England, a further 28 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,785.

Patients were aged between 56 and 92 years old. All but two patients had known underlying health conditions.

Date of death ranges from 31 March to 21 September 2020, with the majority on or after 18 September.