The Wiltshire Council area has recorded its biggest increase of daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

In the last 24-hour period, 149 infections were reported across the county, excluding Swindon.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases since March to 6,581.

Cases of coronavirus have been rising sharply in the past week.

However, it is worth noting that more tests are now being carried out compared to the start of the pandemic when a large number of positive cases went undetected.

The recent spike in cases is nonetheless concerning to local authorities.

There had been concerns it was only a matter of time until Wiltshire, and Salisbury, moved one tier up.

However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced yesterday (December 23) that while a number of areas will face stricter restrictions from Boxing Day, Wiltshire will remain in Tier 2.

The areas where changes will come into place are:

  • Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, Essex, Waverley, West Berkshire and Hampshire, with the exception of the New Forest which will move to Tier 4
  • The New Forest, Swindon, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire which will move to Tier 3

The soaring number of Covid-19 cases across the UK is thought to be connected to two coronavirus variants which spread faster.

This is what we know so far about the second one, which appears to have been brought in from South Africa.