Two more deaths of patients who had contracted Covid-19 have been recorded, at the Isle of Wight's hospital, as what appears to be a surge in new cases is explained by a change in the way the government publishes its data.

Two people died on the wards at St Mary's Hospital on January 28 and 30.

In all, 225 patients have died in hospital on the Island since March 2020 and a further 153 people have died in the community.

Meanwhile, reinfections are being included in the statistics from now on.

Previously, people who tested positive twice were only counted one.

Now, a second infection is counted separately, as long as it's after 90 days.

It means 1,297 new cases were added to the Isle of Wight's total yesterday (Monday), which included historic Covid-19 positives, as the new figures were adjusted.

Explaining the changes, the government said: "The new data shows that reinfection rates averaged around 1.4 percent of cases until 16 November 2021, when a spike in infections took place following the emergence of the Omicron variant. 

"Following that increase in the number of people infected, reinfections rose – with reinfections now representing around 10 per cent of episodes per day."