1,630 further coronavirus cases and 15 more deaths recorded in Birmingham

The number of coronavirus cases in Birmingham increased by 1,630 over the bank holiday weekend, official figures show – and 15 more deaths were recorded.

A total of 146,054 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Birmingham when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on August 31 (Tuesday), up from 144,424 on Friday.

The rate of infection in Birmingham now stands at 12,806 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 10,398.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 123,182 over the period, to 6,789,581.

There were also 15 more coronavirus deaths recorded over the bank holiday weekend in Birmingham.

The dashboard shows 2,816 people had died in the area by August 31 (Tuesday) – up from 2,801 on Friday.

It means there have been 23 deaths in the past week, which is an increase on 22 the previous week.

They were among 13,992 deaths recorded across the West Midlands.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Birmingham.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

The figures also show that more than half of people in Birmingham have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 563,371 people had received both jabs by August 30 (Monday) – 57% of those aged 18 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 78% of people aged 16 and above had received a second dose of the jab.

Unlike at local level, the national rate was calculated using mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.