The first full week of the New Year saw the highest number of Covid-related deaths recorded for Maldon district since the start of the pandemic.

In the week to Friday, 8 January, 12 hospital deaths and one care home death related to Covid-19 were recorded for residents of the district.

Much better news is that the current infection rate for the district has halved from its peak at the start of January. However, hospitalisations and sadly deaths lag weeks behind new cases.

Up until the 30 October last year, the total number of Covid-related deaths for Maldon district was 45. That figure now stands at 60.

Previously, the highest Covid death toll was on two separate weeks in April, where seven Covid fatalities were recorded in each.

The seven-day Covid infection rate for Maldon district has halved since the highest point in January, with figures for the week up to 14 January (the latest complete figures available) showing a total of 369 confirmed positive cases, equal to 568.1 per 100,000 people.

While the figure remains high, it is a significant improvement on the peak of cases. On 2 January, the seven-day infection rate for Maldon district was 1,144.3 cases per 100,000 - slightly more than double the current rate.