The areas of Berkshire that could be put into lockdown again

Two neighbouring boroughs in Berkshire have emerged as areas that could face further lockdown measures if coronavirus cases continue to rise.

While other parts of the county are seeing no change in cases, Slough and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead are still reporting an increase.

The two boroughs are among 36 areas across the country where cases continue to rise.

Figures on Tuesday, June 30, show there are still 469 cases in Slough and 312 cases in the Royal Borough.

Slough has reported 10 new cases in the past 14 days, while the Royal Borough has seen a rise of six cases in the same period. When looking at just the last seven days, there has been an increase of four cases in Slough and three in Windsor and Maidenhead.

The total number of cases in Reading is higher at 596, but the town has only seen a change of four cases in the past two weeks, and a rise of just one in the last seven days.

West Berkshire has seen an increase of just one case over the last 14 days, rising to 385 in total. And two areas have seen no change in cases since June 16, Bracknell Forest's cases has stayed the same at 263, while Wokingham still has 458 cases.

The news comes as the city of Leicester became the first place in the country to go back into lockdown after a worrying spike in cases.

It is important to point out Leicester now has a seven day infection rate of 135 per 100,000 people, which is three times as high as the next local area, according to Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - far higher than the rate in Berkshire.

The new lockdown means Leicester will not move forward with the opening of social spaces, pubs and restaurants, which is due to happen on Saturday, July 4.

Shielding for vulnerable people will also not be relaxed for at least two weeks.