MORE than 1,000 people have died in the county after testing positive for Covid-19, figures from Oxfordshire County Council revealed.

Data from the county authority confirmed there have been 1,002 deaths recorded in Oxfordshire since the start of the pandemic.

The rate of infection in Oxfordshire now stands at 4,618 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 6,466.

According to the Government’s website, as of 4pm on Thursday, there were 66 new cases in the county – a decline of 20 from Wednesday’s numbers.

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These were the numbers for the past 24 hours by local authority:

l Oxford – 22

l South Oxfordshire – 9

l West Oxfordshire – 4

l Vale of White Horse – 12

l Cherwell – 18

The total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic started are:

l Oxford – 8,984

l Oxfordshire – 31,940

Public Health England confirmed that the UK has recorded a further 323 Covid-related deaths.

The number of recorded cases also increased by 9,985 over the period, to 4,154,562.

Oxfordshire's cases were among the 517,011 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 994 over the period.

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

The number of people who have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine has now surpassed 18 million; more than 700,000 have also been given their second.