HERE are the key coronavirus updates from the last 24-hours.

  • A further 4,202 people have tested positive for Covid in the North-East and North Yorkshire since Saturday’s figures were released.
  • The Government said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 12,594 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 515,571.
  • The Government also said a further 19 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday. This brings the UK total to 42,369.
  • Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been nearly 57,900 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
  • Data issues that stopped almost 16,000 coronavirus cases being recorded in England – delaying contact tracing efforts – should never have happened, the Health Secretary has said.
  • New guidance is being drawn up which aims to reduce inconsistencies in care for patients who have long Covid. Those suffering with so-called long Covid have reported breathlessness, chronic fatigue, brain fog and other complications including issues with the heart, lungs, kidneys and musculoskeletal problems – months after initially falling ill with the virus. Now the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (Sign) have said that new guidance is being drawn up to help guide the care for people who suffer long-term complications. The health bodies will work with the Royal College of GPs to draw up the guidelines, which will be published later this year.
  • A further ten people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 30,176, NHS England said on Monday. Patients were aged between 67 and 91 years old. All but one 85-year-old patient had underlying health conditions. The deaths were between October 1 and October 3. Most were on or after October 2. One other death was reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.