The leader of Maldon District Council has reacted to news that a 'major incident' has been declared in Essex.

Councillor Wendy Stamp said: "I fully support the move by the Essex Resilience Forum to declare a major incident for Essex.

"The rising number of cases is a clear indication that such a measure is necessary in order to ease the pressure on an already stretched NHS in Essex. It is important that we all continue follow the Tier 4 measures in order to keep ourselves and others safe."

News of the major incident declaration came first thing this morning (Wednesday, 30 December) in response to increasing pressure on health services, social care settings and hospitals across Essex - particularly on the three run by the Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Trust, including Broomfield, Southend and Basildon, which are all now treating more Covid-19 patients than at the peak of the pandemic in the spring.

The Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) includes local health authorities, councils and blue light emergency services across the region. Declaring the major incident will allow requests for Government assistance in the crisis.

Part of the plan now includes being able to transfer some patients to hospitals outside the area and to work on early discharges from hospital where appropriate.

Today will also see the Government's Tier 4 review for Maldon district.

The latest available figures show that up to Thursday, 24 December, Maldon district had a seven-day infection rate of 759.4 per 100,000 population compared to a current national average of 248 cases per 100,000 people.