Coronavirus in Berkshire round up - Saturday, January 30

Public Health England has recorded 350 lab-confirmed cases in areas including Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, West Berkshire, Slough and Windsor and Maidenhead.

These figures, correct as of Saturday, January 30 at 4pm, bring the county's lab-confirmed positive Covid-19 tests total to 48,941, according to Public Health England.

READ MORE: Just ONE area in Reading currently recording severely high Covid rates as cases drop

PICTURED: RBH

The local breakdown for the past 24 hours as follows:

Reading - 63 cases, 9,580 total

West Berkshire - 63 cases, 5,386 total

Bracknell - 35 cases, 6,176 total

Wokingham - 43 cases, 7,250 total

Slough - 103 cases, 13,160 total

Windsor and Maidenhead - 43 cases, 7,389 total

There have now been 3,796,088 people across the UK who have tested positive for Covid-19.

The total number of deaths - those with Covid-19 listed on their death certificate - across the UK has now reached 103,602.

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

Reading - 498.2

West Berkshire - 244.9

Bracknell - 293.8

Wokingham - 219.1

Slough - 662.7

Windsor and Maidenhead - 260.9

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PICTURED: Covid ambulance stock image

In today's national coronavirus news:

Scientists have welcomed the "extremely encouraging" results of Janssen's new single-shot Covid-19 vaccine trial announced less than 24 hours after the Novavax jab also appeared effective.

The vaccine, developed by the Johnson & Johnson-owned pharmaceutical firm, is 66 per cent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe coronavirus 28 days after vaccination, trial results show.

Novavax announced late on Thursday that its jab was 89 per cent effective following a clinical trial run in the UK.

The results come as January 30 marks the anniversary of the first known death involving Covid-19 in the UK, that of 84-year-old Peter Attwood, from Chatham in Kent.

One year on, the Government on Friday said the death total now stands at 104,371 after reporting a further 1,245 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies 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 121,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

Experts say the latest vaccine data is another positive sign, with three jabs already approved for use in the UK - Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca.

Professor Kevin Marsh, co-lead of the Covid-19 team at the African Academy of Sciences, and Professor of Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford, said the results from the Janssen jab trials were "extremely encouraging".

He said: "It is possible that some people will look at the overall reported efficacy of 66 per cent in preventing moderate to severe Covid-19 and focus on comparisons with potentially higher 'top line' efficacy reported for some other vaccines.

"This would be a mistake. The real headline result is that a single-shot vaccine, capable of easy long-term storage and administration, provided complete protection against hospitalisation and death."

PICTURED: Covid stock image

The UK has ordered 30 million doses of the vaccine, with the option of 22 million more, with deliveries expected in the second half of this year if the jab is approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Some 60 million doses of the Novavax jab, to be produced on Teesside, have also been secured, with the hope that the MHRA could approve it within weeks.

In total, the Government has secured 357 million doses of various Covid-19 vaccines - more than what is required to cover the entire population.