A TOTAL of 13 people have tested positive for coronavirus across Dorset, in the latest 24-hour recording period.

Six people tested positive in the Dorset Council area and seven in the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole area.

Public Health England figures show that 757 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Friday (September 25) in the Dorset Council area, up from 751 the same time on Thursday.

A total 1,145 people had been confirmed as testing positive in the BCP area, up from 1,138 the same time on Thursday.

The rate of infection in Dorset now stands at 200 cases per 100,000 people and 290 in BCP, far lower than the England average of 647.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 6,873 over the period, to 423,236.

Dorset's cases were among the 17,173 recorded across the South West, a figure which rose by 181 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.