MORE than 30 people in Berkshire tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the latest figures show.

Public Health England has recorded 33 new lab-confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, in areas including Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, West Berkshire, Slough and Windsor and Maidenhead.

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These figures, correct as of Thursday, April 29, at 4pm bring the latest total for the county to 56,601 coronavirus cases.

The local breakdown for the past 24 hours as follows:

  • Reading - 4 cases, 10,912 total
  • Bracknell Forest - 3 cases, 7,085 total
  • Wokingham - 3 cases, 8,238 total
  • West Berkshire - 7 cases, 6,370 total
  • Slough - 14 cases, 15,507 total 
  • Windsor and Maidenhead - 2 cases, 8,489 total

There have now been 4,414,242 people across the UK who have tested positive for Covid-19 - a daily increase of 2,445.

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The government said a further 22 people have died having tested positive for Covid-19. The total number of deaths in England is 127,502.

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

  • Reading - 30.3
  • Bracknell Forest - 14.7
  • Wokingham - 26.3
  • West Berkshire - 15.1
  • Windsor and Maidenhead - 32.4
  • Slough - 53.5

In today's national Covid news: 

Two new variants linked to the Covid-19 variant first found in India have been identified in England.

Public Health England (PHE) said the two variants share the same lineage – a distinct fingerprint of genetic mutations – as the Indian variant known as B.1.617.

The two variants are designated as “variants under investigation” (VUI) – the same as B.1.617 – rather than “variants of concern” (VOC), such as those first identified in Kent, Manaus (Brazil) and South Africa.

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PHE said it has identified 202 cases of one of the variants and five cases of the other that are “geographically dispersed in England”.

It said there is no evidence that these variants cause more severe disease or make the current vaccines any less effective.