Coronavirus in Berkshire round up - Saturday, December 12

ALMOST 300 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Berkshire today.

Public Health England has recorded 299 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 Saturday, December 12, bringing the county's lab-confirmed positive Covid-19 tests total to 16,530, according to Public Health England.

The local breakdown for the past 24 hours as follows:

Wokingham - 55 cases, 2517 total

Reading - 59 cases, 3178 total

West Berkshire - 34 cases, 1883 total

Bracknell - 39 cases, 1771 total

Slough - 77 cases, 4514 total

Windsor and Maidenhead - 35 cases, 2664 total

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

Bracknell - 172.2 per 100,000 people

Reading - 181.7

Wokingham - 147.3

West Berkshire - 64.4

Slough - 253.4

Windsor and Maidenhead - 107.6

There have now been 1,809,455 cases of Covid-19 across the UK – as of Saturday, December 12 at 3.45pm. This was an increase of 21,672 cases in the past 24 hours.

The total number of deaths - those with Covid-19 listed on the death certificate - across the UK has now reached 73,125.

In today's national coronavirus news:

Relaxing Covid restrictions for five days over the Christmas period is a "mistake" that will have "consequences", according to a professor of public health.

Linda Bauld, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "I think people have to think very carefully whether they can see loved ones outside, or do it in a very modest way.

"I'm also concerned about the travel, people going from high to low-prevalence areas."

Schools in England planning to allow pupils to learn remotely in the run-up to Christmas could face legal action to force them to remain open.

New powers introduced through the Coronavirus Act allow the Government to issue "directions" to headteachers around education provision during the pandemic.