ALMOST 1,000 people are estimated to have contracted Covid-19 in Basingstoke and Deane in the last week.

The Covid Symptom Study app, run by health technology company Zoe Global Ltd and scientists at King's College London and St Thomas' Hospitals, asks residents to record their symptoms each day.

It then produces an estimated number of Covid cases in each region.

The app estimates that there are 2,478 'active' Covid cases in Basingstoke and Deane.

This has increased by 979 in the last week.

According to data from the app, the borough saw a spike of cases during the second lockdown in November, before decreasing until around Christmas.

Then, the number of cases recorded across Basingstoke and Deane has seen a sharp spike.

Official government figures reveal 79 people in the borough tested positive for Covid yesterday - a total of 969 in the last week.

This number was up 34 per cent on the week beforehand.

In the borough, six people died within 28 days of a positive Covid test on Monday.

It means that 17 people from Basingstoke and Deane have passed away from the virus in the last week - an increase of 112.5 per cent on the week before.