A TOTAL of 77 new coronavirus cases have been detected in Blackburn with Darwen, as the borough fights back against the spread of the Indian variant.

It comes after 111 new infections were discovered over the weekend – some of the highest numbers the area has recorded since the start of the year.

Public Health England figures show that 18,631 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday (May 18) in Blackburn with Darwen, up from 18,480 the same time on Friday.

The health body recently changed the way it records the figures.

Cases identified through a positive lateral flow test – those which can deliver results within half an hour – will no longer be counted if the person then takes a PCR test, which is sent to a lab to be checked, and receives a negative result within three days.

The rate of infection in Blackburn with Darwen now stands at 12,445.9 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the national average and is the second highest in the country.

On Tuesday morning, several new vaccination centres opened across East Lancashire as health bosses look to ramp up immunisation as the Indian variant spreads.

Jane Scattergood, the director for vaccinations in Lancashire, confirmed and extra 16,000 doses had been secured for the town and surrounding areas.

Click here to find out more about the vaccination centres.