ONCE again Public Health England has reported that there have been no further recorded coronavirus-related deaths in Thurock, meaning it is now almost a week since the figure increased to 51.

And there were just two new cases of people contracting Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking that total to 295.

However, the reading is not so optimistic on a national scale - a further 626 coronavirus deaths were confirmed today (Friday, 8 May) taking the UK total to 31,241.

The death total includes a six-week-old baby with an underlying health condition.

The number of infected people across the UK has risen by 4,649 to 211,354.