New coronavirus cases have been identified in Richmond, leading to a rise in the town's infection rate.

'Pillar 2' tests carried out in the community - home test kits, those carried out at drive-through centres and at mobile testing units - take longer to process than testing in NHS hospitals or by Public Health England.

There is therefore a 3-4 day lag in reporting the Pillar 2 tests.

The results of these carried out in recent days have now been added to the official government figures.

The case tracker now shows that there have been 12 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 10 days in Richmond borough.

This has led to a rise in the town's infection rate. As of Friday, there had been 278.8 cases per 100,000 people in the population.

With the inclusion of the Pillar 2 results, Richmond's rate is now 281.4.

London and the wider UK have seen similar increases.

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Over the same period, the capital's case rate has climbed from 396.8 cases per 100,000 to 399.7.

The UK average has risen from 465.4 to 469.4.

It comes as the government has moved to arrest any further spikes of the virus.

On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the brakes on further easing of lockdown restrictions for at least two more weeks.

The government has embarked on a new approach of enforcing local lockdowns where necessary, with Greater Manchester the latest region to be made subject to new curbs on freedom.

The possibility of closing pubs as a "trade-off" to allow all schools to reopen for the 2020/21 academic year has also been floated.

In light of these proactive measures and the rise in cases, Richmond residents should do all they can to follow good social distancing practice and reduce transmission of the virus.

If you think you may have contracted coronavirus, you can book a free test. A new pop-up testing centre is being run from Old Deer Park this month.

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