Official figures show that 11 more cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Worcestershire over the last three days.

It brings the number of cases recorded in the area up to 19, as Boris Johnson comes under increasing pressure to ramp up the strength of the Government's social distancing measures.

However, many more people are showing symptoms of the virus as testing is not being carried out.

Public Health England figures show that 19 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Sunday morning (March 22) in Worcestershire, up from eight on Thursday. A week before, there were three cases.

They were among the 624 cases recorded across the midlands, a figure which rose by 342 over the three days.

Across the UK, 5,683 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of 9am on Sunday, up from 3,269 at the same point on Thursday, Department of Health and Social Care figures show.

In total, 78,340 people had been tested, and 281 had died. As the Government is no longer testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms, many cases may now not be detected.

People who are ignoring social distancing advice to stay two metres apart are “very selfish”, the Health Secretary has said as he indicated further measures could be brought in to tackle Covid-19.

In a sign that the UK could be moving towards greater lockdown, Matt Hancock said the Government was willing to take “more action” if needed to stop coronavirus from spreading.

Over the weekend, photos emerged showing crowds of people visiting open spaces across many parts of the UK.

The Government has said it is safe to exercise as long as people keep at least two metres away from other people.

Emergency legislation that would grant powers aimed at tackling the pandemic will be debated by MPs later.

Mr Johnson has said the Government is ready to impose tougher restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus if people do not follow the guidance on social distancing.

The Prime Minister insisted that he did not want to close down access to parks and playgrounds because of the benefits to people’s mental and physical wellbeing.

But amid reports of crowds flocking to parks, beaches and beauty spots across the country, he said the Government was ready to impose the kind of “tougher” measures adopted in other European countries if people did not behave responsibly.

He added that unless the UK could control the spread of the virus through social distancing, the NHS would be “overwhelmed” in the same way that the Italian healthcare system had been.