A TOTAL of 19,134 people have had the coronavirus in Blackburn with Darwen, the latest figures show.

It comes after Public Health England changed the way it reported the figures from Friday.

Revision to historical case data in England also led to the removal of 5,500 cases nationally over three days last week.

The number of positive cases reported in Blackburn with Darwen by 9am on Tuesday (May 25) was 62 higher than Monday.

Cases that are identified through a positive lateral flow test – those which can deliver results within half an hour – are no longer being counted if the person then takes a PCR test, which is sent to a lab to be checked, and receives a negative result within three days.

These cases are now being removed daily.

Overall, the rate of infection in Blackburn with Darwen now stands at 12,782 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 6,928.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases was 2,410 higher than Monday, with the total now standing at 4,467,310.

Blackburn with Darwen's cases were among the 616,832 recorded across the North West, a figure which rose by 566 over the period.

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