News in Maldon

The number of hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients in Essex has almost doubled in one week and is now close to a third of total capacity.

Essex County Council has released data that compares hospital admissions as of Tuesday, 29 December, with one week earlier.

Maldon motorists may want to be aware of night time closures of the northbound A12 starting in January.

The closure by Highways England is to carry out investigative work in preparation of the A12 road widening scheme.

Maldon Fire Station's Watch Manager Martin Cable has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM), it was announced today (Wednesday, 30 December).

Martin, an on-call firefighter who has dedicated 45 years of his life to serving his local community has been recognised in the Queen's New Year honours list.

Firefighters from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service will be supporting the NHS as ambulance drivers again as the East of England Ambulance Service responds to an unprecedented number of calls.

The increased level of concern about sup[porting the health services was reflected in a call early this morning (Wednesday, 30 December) for the region to be declared a 'major incident' area.

Primary schools in Maldon district have been confirmed as among those that will face a delay in reopening next week.

Secondary school and college students will also not be going back as planned.

Maldon now waits to hear whether primary schools will re-open next week as planned - and school and college students will face a delayed return.

Whether the district will be designated a 'contingency framework area' - where primary schools will not re-open as intended - is expected to be announced shortly.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he will look favourably on the request for additional help across Essex made this morning when a 'major incident' was declared by the Essex Resilience Forum - a partnership of health services, police and councils including Maldon District Council.

That may include the deployment of military personnel to help support regional health services.

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).

Essex Police have released a tribute to an officer who was killed little more than a week before Christmas.

PC Andrew 'Drew' Kirk had been an officer for 18 years and worked in the Force Support Unit (FSU).

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.