THE county's public health boss has called for everyone in Dorset to 'do their bit' to fight the spread of Covid-19, amid a small rise in the numbers of positive cases locally.

Sam Crowe, director of public health for BCP and Dorset councils, has given an early warning to stay alert in response to the growing cases and to an increase in people flaunting Covid regulations.

He said: "We are starting to see a gradual rise in cases and in some instances, people not adhering to the instructions to self-isolate.

"If you are showing symptoms, it’s vital that you self-isolate so that you can protect yourself, your family and friends.

"If you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service and are asked to self-isolate, this must be for the full 14 days even if you feel well or have a negative test result.”

A new campaign is being launched to remind everyone what they need to do. ‘Do it for…’ is asking everyone to think about friends, family, work colleagues and front-line workers and do your bit to prevent further action being needed.

Mr Crowe's announcement comes as almost two million people in north-east England are banned from mixing with other households, and pubs in the area are ordered to close early as Covid-19 cases rise.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, announcing the temporary restrictions yesterday, said: "The data says that we must act now."

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth called for more testing capacity to be available in areas where there were tightened restrictions.

Local lockdowns are now in effect not only across the northeast but also, in varying capacity, in the West Midlands, Oldham, Bolton, Leicester, parts of Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

While Sunderland's positive coronavirus cases per 100,000 people was 82.1 on Wednesday – the latest data from Public Health Dorset had BCP Council at 12.9 cases per 100,000 and Dorset Council as eight cases per 100,000. However, these figures were for the week ending September 4.