Coronavirus latest: 253 new cases in Luton over weekend

The total number of cases in the borough now stands at 5,196 (+253).

92 new cases were confirmed in Luton on Saturday, and 161 yesterday (Sunday).

The case rate in Luton currently stands at 288.2 per 100,000.

Elsewhere in the county, Central Bedfordshire has 3,319 (+82) cases while Bedford's figure stands at 3,075 (+62).

There have been 1,512,045 lab-confirmed cases across the UK, up by a daily rise of 18,662.

55,024 deaths have been recorded within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, with 398 added yesterday.

It was reported today that the UK government has ordered 100m doses of a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.

Preliminary testing suggests the vaccine is 70% effective, but researchers say this figure could rise to over 90% by tweaking the dose.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC: "The bulk of the vaccine rollout programme will be in January, February and March.

"We hope that sometime after Easter, things will be able to start to get back to normal”