Coronavirus cases in Wiltshire are "rising rapidly" and are "evenly spread across the county", it has been revealed.

The remarks were made by Wiltshire's Director for Public Health during tonight's live briefing hosted by the council.

During the live update, residents were told of the rising number of confirmed cases and how these are distributed across the county.

Kate Blackburn, Director for Public Health said: "It's been a pretty even spread across the county, we've not seen hotspots or what you would class as a significantly large proportion [of cases] in any one area which is good in one sense but then it makes it more difficult for us."

A total of 3,256 positive cases have been reported in the Wiltshire Council area since the start of the pandemic. Of these, 459 were reported in the last seven days.

Ms Blackburn said infections are "rising rapidly" and across all age groups including those aged 60 and above who are more at risk.

The council was already looking to bring in stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus, but was anticipated by the government's announcement of a second lockdown.

The rise of Covid-19 cases in the county is mainly down to transmission within the community. "This virus likes people," Ms Blackburn said as she urged residents to respect the rules that will come into force on Thursday preventing households from mixing.

Schools, colleges and early years will continue to stay open. 

Wiltshire Council's Chief Executive Terence Herbert said: "If you keep children out of school, their education is going to be harmed and it will be unathorised absence."

The vast majority of cases in schools have been the result of community transmission, not transmission within schools, he said.