THE latest Covid-19 figures show that Maldon district continues to have a low infection rate – despite one area in the county having seen a jump in cases in the last seven days.

There were two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Maldon district in the seven days up to yesterday (Friday, 4 September), equal to 3.1 new infections per 100,000 population.

The Essex county council area has recorded 86 new cases in the last week, meaning an average of 5.8 cases per 100,000.

However, in Castle Point cases have jumped from a similar rolling weekly average (of around two cases per week) during the last two months to 20 new confirmed cases in the last seven days.

This is equal to 22.1 new cases per 100,000 people and exceeds the infection level the government currently uses to help determine whether or not people should self-isolate when returning to the UK from other countries. This is the highest infection rate Castle Point has seen since mid-June.

There have now been a total of 151 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in the Maldon district since the start of the pandemic.

Essex County Council's public health team does not offer comment on the figures for specific districts. However, the county does have a plan in place to help tackle localised outbreaks and emphasises the importance of maintaining social distancing, hand washing and sanitisation, as well as the wearing of face coverings as per government guidelines to help keep infection rates under control.

Up-to-date information on infection rates for Essex and details of the county's local outbreak plan are available to the public by visiting the Essex County Council website