248 further coronavirus cases and six more deaths recorded in North Lanarkshire

File photo dated 21/12/2021 of a nurse puts on PPE in a ward for Covid patients at King's College Hospital, in south east London. The Government has been told to "get a grip" of personal protective equipment (PPE) stocks and contracts, as it was disclosed more than half of suppliers who provided items through the VIP fast-track lane provided stock that was not suitable for use on the front line. Issue date: Wednesday March 30, 2022.

The number of coronavirus cases in North Lanarkshire increased by 248 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and six more deaths were recorded.

A total of 138,136 cases had been confirmed in North Lanarkshire when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on April 20 (Wednesday), up from 137,888 on Tuesday.

The cumulative rate of infection in North Lanarkshire, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 40,493 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the Scotland average of 34,701.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if one person tests positive for the virus more than 90 days after the first infection, two infection episodes will be recorded, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

There were also six more coronavirus deaths recorded in the latest 24-hour period in North Lanarkshire.

The dashboard shows 1,007 people had died in the area by April 20 (Wednesday) – up from 1,001 on Tuesday.

It means there have been 12 deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on 14 the previous week.

They were among 11,860 deaths recorded across Scotland.

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

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