THURROCK Council leader Rob Gledhill has praised the 'can do' attitude of Thurrock people which he believes has seen the borough escape the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a message to residents Cllr Rob Gledhill, says: "Over the last few weeks in what nationally and globally have been an extremely difficult period we in Thurrock have been very fortunate in that many of the worst aspects of coronavirus have not made a significant impact here.

"We have always had a low infection rate and the shortages of PPE and issues in care homes have not been significant issues for us here. We have been able to maintain a good supply of PPE and our care homes have coped well with this pandemic so far.

"It is not a simple matter of luck that allowed us to avoid many of the terrible situations that we have all read about in the news and seen on the television.

"Work ethic and can-do attitude has played an enormous role"

"I believe that our strong communities, work ethic and can-do attitude has played an enormous role in getting us through this as well as we have.

"In a matter of weeks an army of volunteers had mobilised to support our most vulnerable residents through Thurrock Coronavirus Community Action. They have donated thousands upon thousands of hours of their time to deliver hundreds of food and prescription medicine packages to people's homes and give words of comfort, advice and reassurance to thousands of people calling them.

"We have seen residents applauding our waste crews as they go about their jobs, people have even left snacks and treats out for them as they worked and local shops donated Easter eggs to our environmental crews.

"We should be proud of our community and what we have achieved so far and take comfort from the knowledge that we will all be there to continue supporting each other."