YORK'S weekly rate of recording cases of Covid-19 is now over eight times higher than it was at the start of December, the latest figures confirm.

The data from Public Health England (PHE) shows that York's weekly rate is now 496.2 people per 100,000, showing an increase of over 30 over the last 24 hours. In early December, the city's rate reached as low as 59 people per 100,000.

The data also shows that a further 243 cases of the virus have been recorded in the City of York Council area over the last 24 hours, taking the area's total for the whole pandemic up to 8,323.

North Yorkshire's weekly rate also continues to rise, as it now stands at 349.2 people per 100,000 with a further 454 cases recorded in the last 24 hours.

In the East Riding of Yorkshire, a further 166 cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours which take the area's total for the whole pandemic up to 12,908.

Across the UK, a further 62,322 cases have been recorded, the highest amount of daily cases since the pandemic began. These further cases take the country's total up to 2,836,801.