THERE have been 31 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in St Helens for the third day in a row.

Tuesday's figure has recorded 31 cases for the 24 hours up to 9am that day, the third consecutive day the borough has had this number of positive tests.

There had been 35 new cases found in Saturday's figures and 40 on Friday.

The health body includes in the statistics Pillar two tests – those carried out in the wider community – alongside Pillar one tests, which are analysed in NHS Hospitals or PHE laboratories.

The latest published rolling seven-day rate of infection for St Helens is 111.6 per 100,000 of the population, based on cases between September 13 and 19.

In this period there were 201 positive cases of COVID-19 recorded in St Helens.

READ > Coronavirus: Breakdown of St Helens cases by area and age

On Tuesday, restrictions were implemented in St Helens, including for people not to socialise with others from outside their household or support bubble inside a home or private garden.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases in Tuesday's figures increased by 4,926.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced national restrictions yesterday in response to the growing national rate.

These include all pubs and restaurants in England closing at 10pm and people being asked to work from home, if they can.

The latest figures mean that 1,765 people in St Helens have been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

The total rate of infection in St Helens since the start of the outbreak in March now stands at 977.4 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 618.

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