THE past week saw an increase in the number of deaths recorded at Basildon & Thurrock Hospital which were related to Covid-19.

In the past seven days 13 deaths were recorded at the hospital, taking the total number of deaths recorded there to 332.

Less then ten deaths were recorded in the preceding 80 days before last Tuesday.

It is not known how many of the latest 13 deaths, if any, were of Thurrock residents, but it has been reported that there has been a surge in deaths at a number of local care homes in recent days.

And the number of people in the borough who have tested positive for Covid-19 has also gone up recently. In the latest figures available, based on the week ended three days ago, there were 122.7 cases per 100,000 people in the borough (population around 165,000), and increase from 102.1 the previous week.