Nearly a third of all residents have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The leader of Richmond Council gave a video update on the borough's response to the virus on Friday (March 19).

In the broadcast Cllr Gareth Roberts says 62,623 local people have been given the vaccine and addresses concerns about the safety and supply of the vaccine.

Mr Roberts is standing for election to the Greater London Authority (GLA) as the Lib Dem's candidate in South West London.

Due to campaigning rules which kick in soon, this video which you can watch at the top of this story is his last.

Transcript of Cllr Roberts video

[i]Hello, these are the Covid-19 statistics for Richmond upon Thames. Over the last seven days, the rate of infection in the borough stands at 32.3 cases per 100,000 people in the population.

This equates to 64 new cases of the virus being detected in the past week, bringing the total number of cases identified since March to 10,567.

Unfortunately since the last update, seven deaths have been linked to the virus, therefore since February 2020 the total number of deaths now stands at 319.

Over the last seven days, 32,156 tests have been conducted with a positive return rate of 0.2%. The discrepancy between the number of tests and the number of cases identified and the positive return rate is explained by people receiving more than one test.

To date 62,623 people in the borough have received the first vaccination, with 45,226 of those being aged over 55 and 17,397 being aged under 55.

We know that there has been a lot of media speculation over the last few days regarding the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, on the balance of probability it is far safer to receive the vaccine than not. So if you are invited to be vaccinated please accept the invitation.

We also know there are some concerns regarding the supply. We have been asked to reassure you that if you are waiting for your second vaccination there will be no delay and those who are due to receive the first dose will receive it according to schedule.

Owing to purdah regulations for the London Mayoral and London Assembly elections, we will no longer be able to do these video updates during the regulated period. So until May 6 we will be reverting to a graphics based format to deliver these updates.

Until the next update, please make sure you follow the rules - wash your hands wherever possible, wear a face mask or covering when travelling on public transport or in shops, supermarkets or similarly enclosed public spaces and please maintain social distancing of at least two metres.

Look after yourselves and each other. Thank you.