The infection rate in Cumbria is continuing to soar and Copeland has officially lost it's crown as the district with the lowest infection rate in England.

GP surgeries in England are to begin administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as the UK faces a race to protect the population after the daily reported death toll topped 1,000.

The drive to mass vaccinate the population will take a considerable step forward as the NHS in England said the jab would be rolled out from GP surgeries from Thursday.

The development comes after the UK reported a further 1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday - the highest daily reported total since April 21.

Record numbers are also currently in hospital with coronavirus, with a further 3,500 admitted in England on Monday January 4.

In Cumbria cases are rising rapidly and according to the Gov.uk website cases per 100,000 people for the seven-day average in Carlisle in now at more than 760.

The date per 100,000 people for the seven-day average was last updated on Monday, January 4 at 1.54pm.

For each area the figures are as follows:

Allerdale - 451.1

Barrow - 332.6

Carlisle - 932.1

Copeland - 275.7

Eden - 681.7

South Lakes - 273.1

The total number of people with at least one positive Covid-19 test result (either lab-reported or lateral flow device) since the start of the pandemic in each area:

Allerdale - 2,608

Barrow - 2,667

Carlisle - 5,015

Copeland - 1,673

Eden - 1,956

South Lakes - 3,134