Five more confirmed coronavirus cases in Preston and South Ribble during Saturday May 9

A sign stating coronavirus had suspended work Pic: Joseph Gudgeon

Preston and South Ribble saw a total of five new confirmed coronavirus cases during the course of Saturday (May 9).

The government updated their running totals of coronavirus cases during Sunday (May 10) afternoon.

Preston saw four new cases, taking the city’s total to 366 confirmed cases and an infection rate of 258.1 per 100,000 people.

South Ribble had one new confirmed case and the borough has a total of 202 cases and an infection rate of 182.8 per 100,000 people.

Across the Lancashire County Council area there are now 3,141 confirmed Covid-19 cases, an increase of 22 on the previous day.

No new deaths from coronavirus were recorded by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The figures come as Boris Johnson laid out during Sunday evening his proposal for relaxing some elements of the lockdown in England.

From Wednesday (May 12) there will be unlimited outdoor exercise allowed for members of the same household and the Prime Minister said he also wanted to see some industries returning to work where it was not practical to work from home.

He said workplaces would be advised on the steps needed to maintain social distancing.

The PM also stated that you can drive to the countryside or other outdoor places, such as parks, to exercise.

Further stages of the lockdown lifting would from early June see some primary schools reopen, along with some shops, and then the hospitality industry to see some reopening in July.

Johnson also outlined a new ‘alert’ level system for monitoring the rate of transmission for the coronavirus, known as the R rate.