The number of new Covid cases being recorded in Cornwall has fallen for the third day in a row but a new hospital death has been recorded.

Today’s daily new Covid-19 cases in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly show 503 new people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, from 576 yesterday and a peak of 953 on Friday. However, it remains almost double the number being reported a week ago, with only 273 recorded in last Monday's update.

The weekly total number of people with at least one positive Covid-19 test result (either lab-reported or lateral flow device) is on a five-day delay, meaning it is starting to reflect last week’s case rise. The latest data shows a combined 3,653 people testing positive in the seven days leading up to Wednesday last week, August 18 – a rise from the 3,049 weekly cases reported yesterday.

It means the weekly case rate average has risen to 634.7 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 529.8 cases yesterday.

The overall total of cases in Cornwall since the start of the pandemic now stands at 32,986.

The daily number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK shows 31,914 new cases compared to 32,253 yesterday. This takes the total of cases since the start of the pandemic to 6,524,581.

The combined number of Covid-19 related deaths in total in the Duchy’s hospitals since the start of the pandemic has risen to 286, following one further death at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust on Friday (August 20) and reported in today's NHS England update.

The total number recorded at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust since the start of the pandemic is now 223, while at the Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust it remains at 63.

The government update, which continues to change daily, shows the overall number of deaths in Cornwall – including deaths in care homes and other settings – remaining at 493 in the 28 days since a positive Covid case, due to a difference in reporting times. Two new deaths were reported in Saturday’s update.

The number of deaths in Cornwall simply with Covid-19 on the death certificate is now at 589 up in the most recent data available. It shows that four new deaths occurred in the week leading up to Friday, August 6, the most recent date given, with this total updated weekly.

The overall UK figures show that 40 more people have died within 28 days of their first positive test result.

Total UK deaths within 28 days since the start of the pandemic stands at 131,680. These figures include people in care home and other settings.

Up to Sunday, August 22 a total of 47,690,741 people in the UK have had their first Covid-19 vaccination dose, while 41,810,753 have had their second dose.

In Cornwall it is 426,447 with their first dose and 383,259 with their second.