DESPITE the fact that recently published figures show Thurrock saw its largest weekly increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases transferred to the test and trace service at the end of September, the borough council have flagged up that Thurrock is one areas in the UK with the lowest rates of infection.

In his latest weekly message to residents, Thurrock Council leader Rob Gledhill reflects on the local picture in Thurrock over the last seven days and reveals there were 32.1 positive test results per 100,000 people.

He adds: "This means we have a rate that is within the lowest 10% of local authority areas in the country. Thurrock is ranked 134th lowest out of 149 local authorities in terms of the rate of infection.

"You might have read some alarming reports of an increase in infection elsewhere in the country and even as close to home as other parts of Essex but that is simply not the case in Thurrock.

"I am in daily contact with Thurrock Council's Director of Public Health, and we believe that the measures we have in Thurrock are helping keep our infection rates low. Thankfully at the moment, we have a rate of positive tests that is under half that of some other districts in Essex.

"Our infection rates are reported entirely separately from those in Essex and Southend. Each of these three councils has its own Director of Public Health, working closely with Public Health England and providing advice and guidance locally, setting that council's course for dealing with coronavirus and the managing the rate of infection.

"Whilst not being complacent, we believe that what we are doing locally is controlling the rate of infection. We have a plan in place which we believe works for Thurrock and are ensuring that local public health decisions concerning our residents are made by Thurrock Council alone.

"The best way to keep Thurrock's infection rate down is by each of us taking individual responsibility to keep on playing our part and following the guidance. When we all do that our actions are magnified across the community and we all feel the benefits of it."

Data recently processed through the Department for Health and Social care shows 319 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Thurrock were transferred to the Test and Trace service between May 28 and September 30.

That was 51 more than the total transferred up to September 23 – the largest weekly increase since comparable local figures were first published in August.

Test and Trace asks these patients to give details for anyone they were in close contact with in the 48 hours before their symptoms started. In Thurrock, 691 close contacts were identified but just 61.9% of those were reached by contact tracers in the four month period, meaning 263 people were not contacted or did not respond.