VISITORS to Hampshire countryside this weekend are being urged to "stay safe and sensible".

With Covid-19 restrictions beginning to ease in the coming weeks, Hampshire County Council is urging people to follow the rules and respect the countryside as sites get busier over the Easter holidays.

The council is urging people to always follow the Government’s latest COVID-19 guidance including on social distancing by avoiding touching gates and railings where possible; leaving gates as they find them; washing hands as soon as you return home; keeping dogs on leads to help maintain a 2m distance from others; and on narrow paths, make other people aware of your presence, find a wide place to pass, and wait if you need to.

This also applies to runners and cyclists, who should take particular care to distance, as they move faster.

Hampshire County Council’s Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services, Felicity Roe, said: “With greater freedom to travel and to meet up with others, we are asking people to take the next step safely, reminding everyone to stick to the rules when visiting Hampshire’s beautiful outdoor attractions and local rights of ways.

"We expect popular sites to get busy, so please remember to stay socially distanced where necessary and follow the countryside code."

It comes as one more patients with coronavirus has died in Hampshire in the last 24 hours.

Figures from NHS England published yesterday afternoon showed that one patients with Covid-19 has died.

It brings the county's total to 1,896 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

One death was recorded at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, bringing the total to 902 deaths.

No other deaths were recorded at the county's other Trusts.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust remains at 438 deaths and University Hospital Southampton remains at 478 deaths.

Southern Health NHS Trust remains at 58 deaths and Solent NHS Trust remains at 15 deaths.

As well as this, more than 90 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in Hampshire in 24 hours.

Public Health England figures - as recorded on the Government website yesterday - showed that 94 more people have tested positive for the virus in a 24 hour period.

Across the county, there has been a total of 91,643 positive tests since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 - around 6.66 per cent of the county's population.