THERE have been more than 1,500 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the region according to the latest Government figures.

A further 1,295 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, bringing the UK total to 88,590.

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 104,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

A total of 3,514,385 Covid-19 vaccinations had taken place in England between December 8 and January 15, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 324,711 on Friday’s figures.

Of this number, 3,090,058 were the first dose of the vaccine, a rise of 320,894 on Friday’s figures, while 424,327 were the second dose, an increase of 3,817.

The Government also said that, as of 9am on Saturday, there had been a further 41,346 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 3,357,361.

Here is a breakdown by local authority of the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases: County Durham: 29,438 was 29,236; Darlington: 5,337 was 5,397; Gateshead: 11,137 was 11,053; Hartlepool: 7,004 was 6,928; Middlesbrough: 8,943 was 8,836; Newcastle: 19.571 was 19,448; North Tyneside: 9,452 was 9,392; North Yorkshire: 23.041 was 22,875; Northumberland: 13,489 was 13,375; Redcar and Cleveland: 6,921 was 6,821; South Tyneside: 9,114 was 9,047; Stockton: 11,748 was 11,612; Sunderland: 16,618 was 16,477; York: 9,946 was 9,841. Total: 181,870. An increase of 1,532.