THE number of recorded coronavirus cases in Oxfordshire has increased by 81, official figures show.

Public Health England figures show that 10,459 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am yesterday, up from 10,378 the same time on Tuesday.

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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.

The rate of infection in the county now stands at 1,512 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 2,535.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 16,170 over the period, to 1,659,256.

Oxfordshire's cases were among the 138,820 recorded across the South East, a figure which rose by 2,210 over the period.

The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech has been approved for use in the UK, and vaccinations are set to start next week.The jab has been shown in studies to be 95 per cent effective and works in all age groups.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use.

"This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."