A FURTHER 10 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Oxford within 24 hours.

They made up an additional 27 new confirmed cases in Oxfordshire announced by Public Health England, as of 9am.

The rate of infection in Oxfordshire now stands at 522 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 537.

It comes after Oxford's alert level was dropped to to yellow last week.

The city had been on amber, meaning it was close to being placed on a Government watchlist for local lockdown.

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But a fall in the weekly number of coronavirus infections meant the alert level could be reduced.

Across the UK there have been 2,948, taking the total of confirmed cases to 350,100.

This is a cumulative count and includes patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.

In the South East, six more people were admitted to hospital due to coronavirus, with 50 Covid-19 patients currently being cared for in the region and three on ventilation.

No deaths have been reported at Oxfordshire's hospitals since July 4.

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A further three deaths within 28 days of positive test for the virus were reported in the UK.

It takes the current UK death toll to 41,554.

Globally, there have now been more than 27 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, with almost 890,000 deaths.

The US continues to record the most cases and deaths.

India has overtaken Brazil in positive tests, though it remains third for fatalities at more than 71,000.

The UK is 14th highest for Covid-19 cases and has the fifth highest death toll, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.