TWO more cases of coronavirus have been recorded in St Helens as the rate of increase remains lower than nationally.

Public Health England figures show that 752 people had been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 by 9am Tuesday morning (May 26) in St Helens since the start of the outbreak, up from 750 the same time on Monday.

A week before, there were 728 cases.

It means cases have increased by less than 0.5 per cent over the last 24 hours, lower than the rate of increase across the UK of around two per cent.

St Helens Star:

They were among the 25,158 cases recorded across the North West, a figure which rose by 147 over the period.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.

Across the UK, 265,227 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of 9am on Tuesday, up from 261,184 at the same point on Monday, Department of Health and Social Care figures show. As of 5pm on Monday, 37,048 people had died.