ESSEX'S public health chief has called on residents in Tendring to remain vigilant after the district recorded its 400th Covid-19 death.

Tendring has been hit hard by the faster-spreading new strain of Covid-19.

Dr Mike Gogarty, director of public health at Essex County Council, said the population in Tendring had relatively little exposure to the original Covid-19 virus, which meant residents were more susceptible to the new variant.

Dr Gogarty said: “Looking forward, sadly, deaths will always follow some weeks after a peak in cases as it takes a while for the virus to take a hold in a person.

“We would hope that the reduction in cases will be followed by a reduction in deaths after around three weeks, so we are hoping to see this over the next three weeks.

“This seems to be moving in the right direction, but we are not out of the woods yet, the case rate and the death rate are still very high and very concerning.

“I urge all residents of Tendring district to remain vigilant and observe social distancing.

“The best way to avoid transmission is to keep two metres or more away from people who are not in your immediate family.

“Do wear a mask in shops and supermarkets and wash your hands regularly. We have to keep up the pressure to bring those rates down.”

Gazette:

Jab - a Covid-19 vaccine is administered in Clacton

Official figures show there were 84 Covid deaths in the district in the seven days to January 25, an increase of 23.5 per cent.

That brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of positive Covid test in Tendring since the pandemic started to 408.

It came a day after the UK surpassed 100,000 deaths attributed to the virus.

The number of cases in Tendring has fallen by 35 per cent in the past week.

The infection rate in the district decreased to 595 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday, down from a high of 1,269 cases per 100,000 people on January 8.

There were an additional 85 cases reported in the district on Wednesday, bringing the number to 804 for the past seven days - a decrease of 34.8 per cent on the previous week.

Tendring is still one of the worst affected areas in Essex. In comparison, Colchester has an infection rate of 444.8 per 100,000 people and the county average is 433.5.

Clacton MP Giles Watling said “400 deaths is a terrible milestone, which I wish we had never reached. Every single death is a tragedy.

“That is why we must double our efforts to make sure we are not left behind in the vaccine rollout and save as many lives as possible.”