THREE new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the borough – but Bolton is STILL one of the worst hit areas of the UK.

New figures released by Public Health England showed three more people had tested positive for the virus, taking the total number of cases up to 1,948.

Despite the low number of infections, the borough remains one of the hardest hit areas of the country, with the 14th highest infection rate of all 315 authorities.

In the most recent period, the borough reported 45 new cases, an infection rate of 15.8 cases per 100,000 people. This is up by less than a fifth from the previous statistics.

Nearby areas of Salford, Manchester, Trafford, Rochdale, Oldham, and Blackburn with Darwen have all seen higher infection rates, all featuring in the top ten most infected areas.

Cases in Salford doubled, up to 46, whilst cases in Trafford more than tripled, up to 74.

Oldham saw the highest increase, with cases up four times higher to 113 new infections.

Rochdale and Blackburn with Darwen both saw a drop of around a fifth in newly reported cases, after local measures were put into place to prevent the spread of the virus.

No new deaths have been reported at the Royal Bolton Hospital for over two weeks, with the last patient death linked to covid-19 taking place on July 10.

A total of 226 people have died in the borough's hospital after contracting coronavirus.