Coronavirus latest: 19 new cases and zero deaths reported in Luton

The total number of cases in the borough now stands at 21,100 (+19).

Over the past seven days, 171 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in Luton up by 81 (+90%) from the previous week.

No deaths were reported today in Luton, with 500 in total since the pandemic began.

The case rate in Luton is 67.1 per 100,000.

Public Health England reports that 98,144 (52%) adults in Luton have received their first vaccine dose, up by 233 today. Meanwhile, 59,171 (31.4%) people have received both doses, up by 675 today.

There have been 4,490,438 lab-confirmed cases across the UK, up by a daily rise of 3,165.

127,782 deaths have been recorded within 28 days of a positive test, with none reported nationwide today.

Last week, Luton Borough Council's public health chief revealed the government had not granted the council's request to expand its vaccine rollout.

Director of public health, Lucy Hubber said: "Luton’s population is much more vulnerable to Covid-19 due to a number of complex factors, such as social deprivation, a high proportion of frontline workers unable to work from home... and large numbers of multi-generational households making it a greater challenge to effectively self-isolate.

“We have a super-diverse multi-cultural community, which also means high numbers of permitted international travel will always contribute to our high rates.

"In late April, Luton Council asked to be able to extend vaccination to all residents ahead of the national programme because of these greater risks within communities. It has also asked for greater flexibility in the ways that the vaccine is offered to reduce barriers to uptake.

"Neither of these requests have been approved by the government."