Covid round up in Berkshire

More than 50 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Berkshire in the past 24 hours.

Public Health England has recorded 51 new lab-confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, in areas including Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, West Berkshire, Slough and Windsor and Maidenhead.

These figures, correct as of Monday, March 1, at 4pm bring the latest total for the county to 53,191 cases.

Bracknell Forest - 7 cases, 6,812 total

Wokingham - 8 cases, 7,858

Reading - 8 cases, 10,496

Slough - 15 cases, 14,594

Windsor and Maidenhead - 5 cases, 8,006 total

West Berkshire - 8 cases, 6,091

There have now been 4,182,009 people across the UK who have tested positive for Covid-19 - a daily increase of 5,455

The latest seven-day rate per 100,000 people locally are as follows:

Bracknell Forest - 63.6

Reading - 82.8

Wokingham - 59.6

Slough - 173.2

Windsor and Maidenhead - 62.1

West Berkshire - 63.7

In today's national coronavirus news:

Ministers risk creating “mask anarchy” unless regulations on face coverings in schools are made clearer, a senior Conservative MP has said.

Robert Halfon, who chairs the Education Select Committee, insisted “definitive regulations” must be put in place on whether students should wear face coverings.

Teachers are being put under “enormous pressure” because of the current confusion, Mr Halfon added.

MPs also heard many teachers are “worried” about a full return of schools, with some opposition MPs pressing the Government to adopt a phased return in England.

With schools set to reopen in England on March 8, only secondary school students are being advised to wear masks when social distancing cannot be maintained.

The Government needs to be able to reserve the right to “hit the brakes” on students returning to campuses in coming weeks, a leading scientist has said.

Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in mathematics at the University of Warwick and member of the SPI-M advisory group, said there needs to be an “opportunity to respond” if there is high prevalence of