Berkshire coronavirus death toll mounts as more cases are recorded in all parts

This is the latest breakdown of cases for each area of Berkshire:

Bracknell Forest : 1,668 cases (increase of 32)
Reading : 3,007 cases (increase of 40)
Slough : 4,301 cases ( increase of 68)
West Berkshire : 1,774 cases (increase of 19)
Windsor and Maidenhead: 2,574 cases (increase of 25)
Wokingham : 2,390 cases (increase of 30)
This is the latest data on the total number of deaths at NHS trusts in and around Berkshire:

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust: 453 (no change)
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust: 266 ( increase of two )
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: 23 (no change)
Meanwhile, the Government said a further 616 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday.

That brings the UK total to 62,033.

The Government said a further 12,282 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK had today been confirmed.

That rise brings the total number of cases in the UK to 1,750,241.

Separate figures for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 78,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

In addition, the Press Association reports that a further 325 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 42,904, NHS England said on Tuesday.

Officials say that the patients were aged between 42 and 101. All except 12, aged between 56 and 93, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths happened between November 5 and December 7, with the majority on or after December 4.

The new data comes on the day it was announced that key workers will be prioritised for the vaccine after those that are clinically vulnerable due to age or underlying health problems, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

The news emerged after Labour MP Charlotte Nichols asked him in the Commons if key workers such as teachers and shop workers would be prioritised for the vaccine.

Mr Hancock said: “Because of the risk of dying of Covid, I think it is absolutely right that age takes priority and then for health and social care staff because they look after those who are most at risk of dying, their prioritisation is also high.

“Once we are through those clinical priorities, then of course we will be looking to prioritise other workers, including those that she mentioned.”

Labour MP Holly Lynch asked if there was “flexibility” around the “Christmas bubbles” for NHS workers who have to work over Christmas and miss out on seeing loved ones.

Mr Hancock replied: “We have looked into this. We are not proposing to extend the Christmas bubbles but we do hope that the NHS trusts and employers across the NHS can look compassionately at exactly this situation for all of those brilliant colleagues who are working so hard and have had such a tough year.”