New figures have revealed that nearly 350 further cases of the Delta variant of Coronavirus have been recorded in Northumberland.

Cases of the now dominant Delta strain, which was first identified in India, are rising across England and vaccinations have opened up to all adults in the country in an effort to limit its spread.

Public Health England figures have shown that by June 16, 484 cases of the Delta variant had been recorded in Northumberland – a jump of 342 from the week before.

Those identified in the last week were among at least 3,221 cases of the variant recorded across the entire North East, which is the eighth-worst affected of England’s nine regions.

Separate data has shown that the Delta variant carries a higher risk of hospitalisation than the Alpha (Kent) variant. However, two doses of a coronavirus vaccine offer 90 per cent protection against hospitalisation.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive at the UK Health Security Agency said: “It is encouraging to see that hospitalisations and deaths are not rising at the same rate but we will continue to monitor it closely.

“The vaccination programme and the care that we are all taking to follow the guidance are continuing to save lives.”

In the UK, there have been 75,953 confirmed and probable cases of the Delta variant, a 79 per cent increase on the previous week. Of those, 70,856 were detected in England, 4,659 in Scotland, 254 in Northern Ireland and 184 in Wales.

Data shows that 99 per cent of coronavirus cases across the country are the Delta variant.

Despite an increase in cases, there is good news regarding Coronavirus in Northumberland.

It was recently announced that Morpeth was the town with the highest vaccination rate in England and that 3 in 5 Northumberland residents are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Furthermore, there have been no Covid-related deaths in Northumbria NHS Trust Hospitals since March 17.

READ MORE: Northumberland town has highest Covid-19 vaccination rate in England