A TOTAL of 11,326 people have had Covid-19 in Swindon, the latest figures show.

It comes after Public Health England changed the way it recorded the figures from Friday, which resulted in the removal of more than 8,000 cases from the UK running total.

The number of positive cases reported in Swindon by 9am on Monday was three higher than on Thursday.

Cases that are identified through a positive lateral flow test – those which can deliver results within half an hour – will no longer be counted if the person then takes a PCR test, which is sent to a lab to be checked, and receives a negative result within three days.

This change in methodology saw 8,010 cases stripped from the UK cumulative total at the end of last week.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases was 3,022 higher than on Thursday, with the total now standing at 4,373,343.

Swindon's cases were among the 218,943 recorded across the south west, a figure which was revised down from 219,359 over the period.

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