A MORE accurate picture of coronavirus cases in the county has now been revealed.

Oxfordshire positive tests as of 9am Monday stand at 3,087, up more than 900 on the same time last week.

This is not down to a sudden rise in new infections but a change in what data is released.

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The daily government coronavirus update from Public Health England now includes pillar two data.

This is the positive tests from drive-through and home testing kits which the government outsourced to private providers.

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Previously the local authority figures were limited to those carried out by NHS and Public Health England laboratories.

The rate of infection in Oxfordshire now stands at 449 cases per 100,000 people, slightly higher than the England average of 439.

Oxford Mail:

Coronavirus cases in Oxfordshire. Picture: Public Health England

The changes, in place from Thursday, have also led to 30,302 previously reported cases being removed from the UK total as they were duplicates.

There had been criticism that the public, as well as local councils and health providers did not have access to this information, meaning hotspots were harder to detect and combat.

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The data also shows the earliest case of coronavirus in the county was on February 8, almost a month earlier than the official announcement of two cases by Public Health England. This single positive test was in the Cherwell District Council area.

A further 36 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus were announced yesterday to have died in England's hospitals, bringing the total there to 28,940.

The current death toll at Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the John Radcliffe, is 181.