The latest Covid case information for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has been published - but due to a change in the way positive tests are recorded, the overall total appears skewed.

It follows a period of disruption on the Government website that publishes the data, which on Monday cited "technical difficulties" for incomplete figures.

Figures were then published late on Tuesday. These showed as of 7.54pm that day there had been 45 new cases - with the website stating the overall total at that time sat at 3,257.

However, this figure was actually lower than the total published two days earlier, on Sunday, which quoted 3,280 cases.

A brief statement at the top of the page now states: "Public Health England has updated the way it records the location of people who have been tested for Covid-19. Counts of cases and deaths at sub-national level have been updated to reflect this."

In the most recent update, as of 4.22pm today (Wednesday), Cornwall is shown to have 70 new cases.

The website states that the total number of cases in the local authority area now sits at 3,327.

There have been 493 cases recorded in the seven days lead up to November 13. Data from the most recent five days is not shown due to being incomplete. This represents a weekly rate of 86.2 cases per 100,000 people.

The UK has had 19,609 new cases reported today, bringing the total to 1,430,341 nationally since the start of the pandemic.

Last Friday saw Cornwall's first confirmed hospital death for more than a month, after testing positive for coronavirus in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. The patient died on Sunday, November 8 but was only recorded on Friday's figures.

The total number of hospital deaths in Cornwall now stands at 95, with 69 of them recorded at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and 26 at the Cornwall Partnerships NHS Trust.

It means that Cornwall’s overall coronavirus death toll has risen to 214 in the ONS figures.

There have been 11 further deaths recorded in the south west in the past 24 hours, but none in Cornwall.

Nationally a further 282 people, who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 37,124.

Patients were aged between 38 and 101 years old. NHS England said all except 12 - aged 64 to 95 years old - had known underlying health conditions.

The dates of their of their deaths ranged from September 10 to November 17, with the majority being on or after November 13, and their families have been informed.

In today’s coronavirus-related news:

  • Children from eight Cornish primary schools, including one on the Lizard Peninsula, are self-isolating after a music teacher tested positive for Covid-19.

Cornwall Council confirmed that a teacher with the Cornish Music Service Trust has received a positive test result for the virus.

Read the full story here.

  • Additional testing is to be carried out on staff after an outbreak of Covid 19 at a Cornish meat processing plant.

Public Health England (PHE) South West and Cornwall Council say they are aware of a number of confirmed cases.

Read the full story here.

  • The coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer – which is due to arrive in the UK before the end of the year – is 95 per cent effective and has passed its safety checks, according to further data from the firm.

The pharmaceutical giant and its partner BioNTech published interim results last week showing the jab could prevent more than 90 per cent of people developing Covid-19.

Read the full story here.