There were 20 Covid-related deaths of Maldon district residents recorded in the week ending Friday, 15 January.

The latest figures, added to the Essex County Council website yesterday (Tuesday, 26 January), record the highest one-week death toll for the district since the start of the pandemic, with 12 recorded in the previous week (to Friday, 8 January).

Of the latest deaths, 17 were in hospital, two in care homes and one in the community.

Much better news is that the current infection rate for the district stands well below half of what it was at its peak in early January. In the seven days leading up to 20 January, there was a total of 272 new cases recorded in the Maldon district, equal to 419 cases per 100,000 people. The infection rate was in excess of 1,100 per 100,000 in the first days of the New Year.

Up until the 30 October last year, the total number of Covid-related deaths for Maldon district was 45. That figure now stands at 80.

There have now been a total of 2,530 Covid-related deaths recorded for the whole of the Essex county area since the beginning of the pandemic last spring.