Four more Covid-related deaths were confirmed over the weekend in hospitals run by the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust.

And a further five deaths were reported in statistics among Covid-19 patients in University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, which runs hospital services across south Cumbria.

Cumbria's public health director, Colin Cox, has urged people to still get a vaccine, even if they have had coronavirus, after a study showed previous Covid-19 infection provides some immunity for at least five months.

Experts said a small number of those with immunity may still be able to carry the virus in their nose and throat and therefore have a risk of transmitting it to others.

The first report from Public Health England's (PHE) Siren study found that antibodies from past infection provide 83 per cent protection against reinfection for at least five months.

This suggests that people who contracted the disease in the first wave may now be vulnerable to catching it again.

Answering whether immunity from getting the virus and getting the vaccination are similar, Mr Cox said: "You would expect, if you got the virus, to get a degree of immunity for some time. "We do know of other coronavirus strains that cause the common cold where you don't get immunity.My advice to people is that even if you have had the virus, please do get a vaccine as it is going to give you longer immunity."

"We haven't seen many people reinfected; it has happened so is not impossible, but is very rare."We don't know how long the jab gives you immunity for currently as it has not been around for long enough to tell."