MORE than 15,000 people have tested positive in Berkshire for Covid-19.

The latest figures from Public Health England show the total Berkshire cases now stand at 15,500, after an additional 163 people tested positive in the past 24 hours.

Public Health England recorded the 163 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in areas including Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, West Berkshire, Slough and Windsor and Maidenhead.

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These figures, correct as of 4.06pm on Monday, December 7.

The local breakdown for the past 24 hours as follows:

  • Reading - 31 cases, 2,967 total
  • West Berkshire - 10 cases, 1,755 total
  • Bracknell - 25 cases, 1,636 total
  • Wokingham - 36 cases, 2,360 total
  • Slough - 50 cases, 4,233 total
  • Windsor & Maidenhead - 11 cases, 2,549 total

ALSO READ: All the latest news and updates in Bracknell

The latest seven-day rate per 100,000 people locally are as follows:

  • Reading - 149.6 (Compared to 129.8 on Nov 31)
  • West Berkshire - 53.6 (Compared to 63.7 on Nov 31)
  • Bracknell - 117.5 (Compared to 68.5 on Nov 31)
  • Wokingham - 125.6 (Compared to 102.3 on Nov 31)
  • Slough - 248.8 (Compared to 299.6 on Nov 31)
  • Windsor & Maidenhead - 105.7 (Compared to 109 on Nov 31)

There have now been 1,737,960 cases of Covid-19 across the UK – as of Monday, December 7 at 4.06pm - a daily increase of 14,718 cases.

ALSO READ: All the latest news and updates in Slough

In today's national coronavirus news:

People over 80 should not be worried if they are not called for the Covid-19 vaccine this month as the vast majority will have to wait until the new year to receive the jab, a health official has said.

Vaccinations will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs from Tuesday - dubbed "V-Day" by Health Secretary Matt Hancock - with people aged 80 and older, care home workers and NHS workers who are at higher risk at the front of the queue.

Croydon University Hospital in south London was one of the first hospitals to take delivery of the vaccine over the weekend, with similar scenes unfolding around the country ahead of the rollout.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the distribution of the vaccine would be a "marathon not a sprint", while Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said people need to "hang fire" and be assured they have not been forgotten if they have not received a letter or a phone call about the jab.

Mr Hopson said: "I don't think people should expect anything over the next few days because the reality is, as I said, that for the vast, vast, vast majority of people this will be done in January, February, March.

"And the one thing that we don't want people to get anxious about or concerned about is 'Where's my letter?' in December."

He added: "People really shouldn't worry if they're over 80 and they haven't had a letter.

"I'm sure there will be communications over the next few weeks that will tell people how quickly we are getting through the over-80s, and there will be plenty of communications to say, at the right point, if you haven't had a letter then you should talk to your GP, but we are many weeks away from that.

"So as I said people just need to hang fire and wait for a proactive communication.

"If that hasn't happened, don't worry, we haven't forgotten you, and we'll certainly tell you at the point at which you need to start worrying if you haven't been contacted, but that will be many, many weeks away."

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, as people need to receive two doses.

There are 800,000 doses in the first tranche, meaning 400,000 people will be vaccinated initially.