THOUGH there appears to be a slight easing of the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Thurrock and South Essex the area remains one of the worst affected in the UK.

And with a slight delay in the publishing of statistics due to the seasonal holidays, it may be that things have not yet improved.

What is certain is that Thurrock remains one of the most affected by tough lockdown rules, with all schools in the region - including primaries - set to keep their doors closed to all but vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers when the new term starts tomorrow (Monday, 4 January).

The total number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Thurrock as at 1 January was 10,381.

The latest figures in Thurrock show that there were 1,240 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days ending 28 December. The average area in England had 307.

There were 2,161 positive cases in those seven days, a week-on-week drop of 267.

The number of deaths on the borough has not been updated since 18 December, when it stood at 229.

What is happening in Thurrock today may be replicated in other parts of the country, the PM has warned. Speaking on the BBC this morning, Boris Johnson said tougher measures may be required in parts of the country in the coming weeks.

He said this included the possibility of keeping more schools closed, although this is not "something we want to do".

But he added ministers had to be "realistic" about the spread of the new variant of the virus.

Mr Johnson said the government was "entirely reconciled to doing what it takes to get the virus down," and warned of a "tough period ahead".

He said increasing vaccination would provide a way out of restrictions and that he hoped "tens of millions" would be vaccinated in the next three months.

Currently there is just one outlet for the vaccine in Thurrock and though it was reported that the planned schedule had fallen behind, local health leaders say things are on track and have called for patience.

Those who have had their first injection of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and may be expecting to return for the follow -up jab could have to wait longer as the government has advised delaying the second jab will help speed up introduction of the second approved vaccine, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Surgeries will inform patients of where they stand in relation to the second jab and in the overall queue as more vaccine does are rolled out.

Broadly, vaccines are being given to the most vulnerable first, as set out in a list of nine high-priority groups, covering about a quarter of the UK population.

They are thought to represent 90-99% of those at risk of dying from Covid-19.

The descending levels of priority the groups current defined are

• Residents in care homes for older adults and their carers
• 80-year-olds and over and frontline health and social care workers
• 75-year-olds and over
• 70-year-olds and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
• 65-year-olds and over
• 16- to 64-year-olds with serious underlying health conditions
• 60-year-olds and over
• 55-year-olds and over
• 50-year-olds and over