FOUR more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Dorset.

The figures for the Dorset Council area have risen from two to five while they have risen from six to seven in the Bournemouth and Poole area.

It comes as it was revealed the total number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK has risen by 676 in a single day.

The official figure now sits at 2,626 - although experts believe 'significantly more' people already have the virus.

Elsewhere, the Department of Health confirmed that 56,221 people have been tested, jumping by 6,000 from Tuesday's figure of 50,442.

The number of confirmed deaths relating to COVID-19 in the UK has risen to 104.

The Echo reported earlier this week that a patient who has tested positive for coronavirus was being treated in isolation at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) in Dorchester.

A spokesman for the NHS and Public Health England said: "There is no risk to other patients, visit  and staff and our services are running as normal.

"The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases.

"DCH have put measures in place to ensure the safety of patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services continue to be available to the public."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not ruled out placing London on lockdown, with stricter measures than the rest of the nation, as the capital suffers an accelerated spread of the coronavirus.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon first suggested on Wednesday that "more stringent" measures could be introduced earlier in London, because it is ahead on the "infection curve".

The Prime Minister later did not rule out following similar moves by other nations in shutting down the city, and stressed he will not hesitate in imposing "further and faster measures".

He said he was reluctant to issue edicts restricting lives, and implored people to follow the advice to socially distance themselves to slow the spread of Covid-19.

"But let's be absolutely in no doubt that these are very, very important choices that we are now making in our daily lives," the PM told his daily coronavirus press conference.

"And the more closely and the more strictly, more ruthlessly, we can enforce upon ourselves, our families, the advice we are getting, then the better we will be able to protect our NHS, the fewer deaths we will have and the less suffering there will be in the UK population."

Specifically referencing shutting down London, he added: "We do not rule out - because it would be quite wrong to do so - taking further and faster measures in due course."

The Queen will be moving to Windsor Castle tomorrow as she socially distances herself on the advice of the Government and her Medical Household.

Her official residences, including Buckingham Palace, welcome more than three million visitors in each financial year.

The admissions bring in a total income of more than £48 million every year for the Trust, which maintains and displays the collection of royal artefacts held in trust by the Queen for her heirs and the nation.

It is not yet known whether the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, which runs from July until September, will go ahead.

Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews and The Queen's Galleries in London and Edinburgh are to all close their doors to visitors.

The Duke of Cambridge has launched an appeal for the National Emergencies Trust, to raise money on behalf of local charities working with those most at risk during the coronavirus crisis.

The trust will distribute the funds to organisations in the greatest need as they work to support those who are isolated or tackling the spread of Covid-19.

The initiative was only launched in November last year, and the duke remarked at the time that he "dreaded" the day that it would be needed.

Its aim is to distribute funds from the general public in the event of a domestic disaster with both "care and speed".