A further two cases of coronavirus in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have been confirmed in the last 24 hours.

The rise brings the total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 for the local authority area up to 998 as of 4pm Saturday, compared to 996 the previous day.

Across the UK there have now been 344,164 cases of the virus as of this afternoon – a rise of 1,813 on the previous day.

The rate of infection in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly stands at 174.5 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 527.8.

Today's figures from NHS England show a further eight people who tested positive for the coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,604.

Patients were aged between 56 and 94 years old. All had known underlying health conditions and their families have been informed.

The dates of the deaths range from August 31 to September 4 but have only just been recorded, with the majority on or after September 3.

No deaths have been recorded in the south west.

There have been no hospital deaths in Cornwall since July 2.

The latest weekly Office for National Statistics (ONS) information on Tuesday showed that there was no rise in deaths in any setting during the previous week.

The last new death to have been registered was in a care home in Cornwall in the week of August 8 and August 14, but where deaths were registered up to August 22.

It meant that Cornwall's overall coronavirus death toll rose to 210, a rise of one on the previous week's update, when the first increase since July 21 was confirmed.

The ONS has been collating data for deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

In today's coronavirus news:

There is now a much higher likelihood that the number of new cases if coronavirus in the south west will fall at a faster rate.

This was the latest update by the government yesterday, with SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) estimating that the current rate of reproduction (known as the R number) in the south west now sits between 0.8 and 1.1, while the growth rate is estimated at between -4 per cent and +1 per cent - showing a marked shrinkage on last week, particularly in the growth figures.

Read the full story here.

Airline Jet2 has cancelled all flights to mainland Spain and Croatia for the rest of summer 2020.

The update means the airline won't fly to destinations including Alicante, Malaga, and Barcelona in mainland Spain, plus Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia, with the final flights heading out on September 6.

Read the full story here.