551 further coronavirus cases and five more deaths recorded in North Lanarkshire

The number of coronavirus cases in North Lanarkshire increased by 551 in the last 24 hours, official figures show – and five more deaths were recorded.

A total of 112,343 cases had been confirmed in North Lanarkshire when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on March 3 (Thursday), up from 111,792 on Wednesday.

The cumulative rate of infection in North Lanarkshire, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 32,932 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the Scotland average of 27,011.

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.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 45,375 over the period, to 19,074,696.

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

The dashboard shows 923 people had died in the area by March 3 (Thursday) – up from 918 on Wednesday.

It means there have been 19 deaths in the past week, which is an increase on three the previous week.

They were among 10,824 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.

The figures also show that more than two-thirds of people in North Lanarkshire have received a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The latest figures show 207,088 people had received a booster or third dose by March 2 (Wednesday) – 70% of those aged 12 and over, based on mid-2020 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

A total of 254,399 people (86%) had received two jabs by that date.

Across Scotland, 72% of people aged 12 and above had received a booster.