438 further coronavirus cases and three more deaths recorded in Sandwell

The number of coronavirus cases in Sandwell increased by 438 over the weekend, official figures show – and three more deaths were recorded.

A total of 45,079 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Sandwell when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on August 23 (Monday), up from 44,641 on Friday.

The rate of infection in Sandwell now stands at 13,700 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 10,052.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 95,434 over the period, to 6,524,581.

There were also three more coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Sandwell.

The dashboard shows 1,034 people had died in the area by August 23 (Monday) – up from 1,031 on Friday.

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

They were among 13,892 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 Sandwell.

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

Figures reported on a Monday are likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend.

The figures also show that nearly two-thirds of people in Sandwell have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 175,929 people had received both jabs by August 22 (Sunday) – 63% of those aged 18 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.

Across England, 76% 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.