Coronavirus cases in North West Leicestershire have increased significantly after hundreds were missed off rolling totals because of a 'technical issue'.

The number of cases in the city and county is much higher than previously thought.

A further 18 cases have been reported in North West Leicestershire.

The number of confirmed cases in the city and county increased by more than 600 over the weekend as a result of the error which was announced by Public Health England (PHE) last night (Sunday).

Some 15,841 cases between September 25, and October 2, were left out of the UK daily case figures in total.

They were then added to Saturday's figure of 12,872 new cases and Sunday's 22,961 update.

In Leicester, 281 cases were added to cumulative totals. Charnwood's rolling toll increased by 119.

Blaby added 50 cases, 44 extra positive test results were added in Oadby and Wigston and Hinckley and Bosworth saw 41 cases recorded.

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Harborough's total went up by 37, an increase of 22 was seen in Melton.

PHE said while the glitch meant people who had tested positive still received their results, daily dashboards were not updated, meaning contact tracing did not take place and the wrong daily totals were reported.

The Prime Minister admitted today that he does not know how many close contacts of those people who had tested positive should have been self-isolating.

Labour has branded the error 'shambolic'.

The lapse in updating the numbers is significant because the number of cases in an area impacts on seven-day infection rates and the data plays a role in influencing local lockdown decisions.

Interim chief executive of PHE, Michael Brodie said: "A technical issue was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the data load process that transfers Covid-19 positive lab results into reporting dashboards.

"After rapid investigation, we have identified that 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were not included in the reported daily COVID-19 cases. The majority of these cases occurred in most recent days.

"Every one of these cases received their COVID-19 test result as normal and all those who tested positive who were advised to self-isolate.

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"NHS Test and Trace and PHE have worked to quickly resolve the issue and transferred all outstanding cases immediately into the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system and I would like to thank contact tracing and health protection colleagues for their additional efforts over the weekend.

"We fully understand the concern this may cause and further robust measures have been put in place as a result."

Test and Trace and PHE joint medical advisor Susan Hopkins, said: "All outstanding cases were immediately transferred to the contact tracing system by 1am on 3rd October and a thorough public health risk assessment was undertaken to ensure outstanding cases were prioritised for contact tracing effectively.

"The advice remains the same. If you have tested positive you must self-isolate immediately for at least 10 days from when your symptoms began and we urge everyone who is contacted by NHS Test and Trace to provide details of their recent contacts."