Coronavirus latest: 72 new cases in Luton as numbers on the increase

The total number of cases in the borough now stands at 22,705 (+72).

Over the past seven days, 523 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in Luton up by 154 (+41.7%) from the previous week.

No new deaths have been reported today in Luton, with 505 in total since the pandemic began - using the lower estimate of 'deaths reported in 28 days of a positive test'.

The case rate in Luton is 212.2 per 100,000.

Although cases are increasing in Luton, they are not occurring at the same rate as other parts of the country. The worst affected borough in England is currently South Tyneside, which recorded 345 new cases today.

Public Health England reports that 118,979 (62.8%) adults in Luton have received their first dose of a Covid vaccine, while 80,738 (42.6%) have received both doses.

There have been 5,022,893 lab-confirmed cases across the UK, up by a daily rise of 32,551.

128,336 deaths have been recorded within 28 days of a positive test, up by 35 today.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure over the planned lifting of Covid restrictions on July 19.

Today, over 100 scientists signed an open letter in medical journal The Lancet calling the plan "a dangerous and unethical experiment".

Health secretary Sajid Javed has admitted daily cases could rise to over 100,000 during summer.

England is seeing more than 330 hospital admissions a day on average at the moment