THURROCK Council leader Cllr Rob Gledhill has once again highlighted the large numbers of covid infections in the borough and has called on employers to be stringent in ensuring that workers follow guidance to be tested.

In his weekly address to residents, Cllr Gledhill says: "It is your individual actions that add together to make all the difference to tackling this global pandemic - that is no different now than it was in March 2020 when we first took action.

"We are now once again in the midst of a difficult period in the complex life cycle of this pandemic. The rate of infection in Thurrock has increased again and we have nearly 4,000 local Thurrock residents diagnosed in seven days.

"Our contact tracing team have spoken to over 90,000 residents, more than half the population of the borough, in December alone. That gives you so idea of the scale of what we still face and the tremendous work that is going on to protect Thurrock' s residents.

"More than half of those infected are in the least vaccinated 18 to 49 years-old age group, with the numbers of those infected dropping sharply in the older age groups, who are more likely to be fully vaccinated.

"I would strongly urge anyone not fully vaccinated to act now and make sure you get the unrivalled protection the vaccines offer especially if you would be more at risk if you were to get COVID-19.

"Employers have a role to play in this as well. It is vital that they understand what they need to do to protect their employees, their customers and their businesses. If a member of staff shows symptoms or tests positive they need to report it properly to make sure all other workplace contacts are registered and receive the correct information and advice from NHS Test and Trace.

"Workplaces can be fined if they knowingly allow someone who should be self-isolating to attend the workplace. More information can be found on the GOV.UK NHS Test and Trace in the workplace webpage.