Maldon district will remain under Tier 4 restrictions following the Government's latest review.

The announcement was made by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in Parliament this afternoon (Wednesday, 30 December).

The area, along with most other areas in Essex, was placed under Tier 4 restrictions on Sunday, 19 December. The whole of Essex came under these restrictions on Boxing Day.

Mr Hancock announced Tier 4 for many more areas today, bringing three-quarters of the population in England under the restrictions from tomorrow.

There had been speculation that new 'Tier 5' restrictions would be brought in for some areas - potentially including Essex - due to spiralling Covid-19 cases caused in large part by the new UK coronavirus strain and the resultant pressures on the NHS. A 'major incident' was declared in Essex today by the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) due to the pressures on local hospitals.

Mr Hancock did not propose stricter restrictions, saying instead that controlling the virus now depends on "how people behave". However, when questioned about the return of students to schools and universities in January, he said that Health Secretary Gavin Williamson is preparing a statement that will be made shortly.

The news comes on the same day that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in the UK. The UK has purchased 100 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 50 million people.

Maldon Nub News will bring you more on this story as it develops.