COVID infection levels across Dorset are “starting to decline” but remain high, the local health authority has said.

Public Health Dorset said latest data from the ONS Infection Survey showed 8.3 per cent of people in the BCP Council area tested positive for Covid in the week to April 3, with 6.5 per cent in the wider Dorset area.

A Public Health Dorset spokesperson said: “Data from the ONS Infection Survey shows 8.3 per cent of people in BCP testing positive for COVID-19 and 6.5 per cent of people in Dorset testing positive for COVID-19.

“This is down from a peak of 11.2 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively on 26 March, so we can see that infection levels are starting to decline but they remain high. There are currently 253 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across Dorset.”

The number of patients being treated in Dorset hospitals fell by just one from 254 from April 1 to 253.

According to the government website, a total of 2,381 people had tested positive in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch in the seven days to April 8.

During the same period, 2,460 infections were recorded in the Dorset Council area.