COVID-19 cases in Oxfordshire have nearly tripled in the past 24 hours as UK's reproduction number, or R rate, creeps up across the country, the latest official figures show.

According to the Government’s website, as of 4pm on Friday, there were 59 new cases recorded in the county – an increase of 36 from Thursday.

The rate of infection in Oxfordshire now stands at 4,772 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 6,722.

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

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l Oxford – 25

l South Oxfordshire – 11

l West Oxfordshire – 7

l Vale of White Horse – 9

l Cherwell – 7

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

l Oxford – 9,260

l Oxfordshire – 33,006

The UK has recorded a further 70 Covid-related deaths and 6,187 new cases, Public Health England confirmed.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government’s mass testing programme.

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

The R rate in the UK is today said to between 0.7 to 0.9 and between 0.8 and 1.0 in England, according to the latest Government figures.

This represents a slight increase compared to the UK figure of between 0.6 and 0.9 last week.