THURROCK Council has hit out at claims made by the developers of the unofficial COVID Symptom Study app that the borough should be classed as a 'coronavirus hot-spot' after just three people posted information to it saying they thought they had COVID-19 symptoms.

The recently published study drew national media attention to Thurrock for a second time – based on figures that are not authenticated.

Earlier this month the Daily Mail put Thurrock on top of a European wide list – even though its figures did not stand scrutiny.

Figures showing the impact in Thurrock are regularly published on Thurrock Nub News and show that the borough has a very low average of virus cases and deaths.

And the latest media commentary on the borough, which included national newspaper headlines including the Daily Mirror, has been criticised by council leader Cllr Rob Gledhill, who said: "It's a shame that such scientifically unsound data from a tiny sample of self-selected app users should be used to spread fear and misinformation.

"The simple truth is that verifiable data collected by the NHS Test and Trace system shows that Thurrock's rate of confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 people is amongst the lowest in the country.

"Thurrock is not on the official list of 'high risk local authorities' reviewed by Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre every morning using the latest verified COVID-19 test data.

"Unfortunately what we see here is pure hyperbole generated on a tiny number of self-reported cases using an unofficial app.

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"These claims are not based on scientifically sound data or verified test results. The makers of the app appear to have made their claims after 0.2% of 1,493 users in Thurrock reported their own symptoms on the app. That amounts to just three people."

The latest data published by Public Health England can be found here.