ALMOST 200 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Berkshire in the past 24 hours, according to latest figures.

Public Health England has recorded 182 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 of 4pm on Friday, November 27, bring the county's lab-confirmed positive Covid-19 tests total to 16,022, according to Public Health England.

The local breakdown for the past 24 hours as follows:

Bracknell Forest - 16 cases, 1,393 total

Wokingham - 24 cases, 2,047 total

Reading - 43 cases, 2,609 total

Slough - 72 cases, 3,689 total

Windsor and Maidenhead - 20 cases, 2,322 total

West Berkshire - 7 cases, 1,629 total

In today's national coronavirus news:

There have now been 1,589,301cases of Covid-19 across the UK – as of Friday, November 27 at 4pm.

The total number of deaths - those with Covid-19 listed on the death certificate - across the UK has now reached 57,551.

The UK government announced which Tiers local authorities will be placed in.

RELATED: Bracknell Forest will face Tier Two restrictions — what this means for you

The reproduction number, or R value, of coronavirus transmission is falling across the UK and may potentially be below 1, according to scientists.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the Government, said on Friday the R for the UK as a whole is between 0.9 and 1.

Its current prediction represents the situation over the last few weeks.

R represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect.

A mass coronavirus testing centre has been set up at the University of St Andrews to allow students to be checked before returning home for Christmas.

Schools and colleges facing significant staffing and funding pressures due to the pandemic will be able to claim financial support from the Government.

The Department for Education (DfE) has unveiled a short-term Covid workforce fund to help cover the costs of staff absences.

It comes after unions warned schools could be sent over the edge financially after spending thousands of pounds on keeping sites Covid-secure.