The number of new Covid cases being recorded in Cornwall appears to be properly on the decline again after reaching a high at the end of last week.

However, the number of deaths has risen again. 

Today’s daily new Covid-19 case figures in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly show 469 new people have tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, from 503 on Monday and a peak of 953 last Friday. However, it remains significantly higher than the number being reported just over 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 now reflecting last week’s case rise rather the more recent daily decline. The latest data shows a combined 4,134 people testing positive in the seven days leading up to Thursday last week, August 19 – a rise from the 3,653 weekly cases reported Monday.

It means the weekly case rate average has risen to 718.3 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 634.7 cases the day before. For this figure the government uses the mid-2020 estimates for the permanent population of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The overall total of cases in Cornwall since the start of the pandemic now stands at 33,455.

The daily number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK shows 30,838 new cases compared to 31,914 on Monday. This takes the total of cases since the start of the pandemic to 6,555,200.

The combined number of Covid-19 related deaths in total in the Duchy’s hospitals since the start of the pandemic is now 286, following one further death at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust on Friday (August 20) and reported in Monday'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 shows the overall number of deaths in Cornwall – including deaths in care homes and other settings – has risen to 495 in the 28 days since a positive Covid case, including two new deaths in the most recent update.

The number of deaths in Cornwall simply with Covid-19 on the death certificate is now at 594 up in the most recent data available. It shows that four new deaths occurred in the week leading up to Friday, August 13, the most recent date given, with this total updated weekly on a Tuesday.

The overall UK figures show that 174 more people have died within 28 days of their first positive test result – three times the number on Monday, when 40 were reported.

Total UK deaths within 28 days since the start of the pandemic stands at 131,854. These figures include people in care home and other settings.

Up to Monday, August 23 a total of 47,737,142 people in the UK have had their first Covid-19 vaccination dose, while 41,942,036 have had their second dose.

In Cornwall it is 426,571 with their first dose and 384,302 with their second.