The part of Colchester where Covid rates have increased 450 per cent

A map compiled using Government data shows the infection rate in each part of the borough.

Stanway has seen a rise of 450 per cent compared with a week earlier.

It now has a rate of 120.4 cases per 100,000 people.

Layer-de-la-Haye, Abberton and Mersea East has seen a 350 per cent increase in its rate, now 214.5 cases per 100,000 people, compared with a week earlier.

This part of Colchester has seen its Covid rate increase 450 per cent

Colchester's average infection rate continues to fall and has dropped compared with a week previously.

In the seven days to February 26 the rate was 90.4 cases per 100,000 people, with 176 cases confirmed in this period.

This has dropped from 110.2 cases per 100,000 a week earlier.

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It backs up Health Secretary, Matt Hancock's, plea to Britons not to break coronavirus rules and “blow” progress being made.

The vaccine programme in the UK is thought to be helping surpress infection rates already, as well as save lives.

A study by Public Health England has indicated the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective in reducing infections among older people.

Mr Hancock has said the number of admissions to hospital was falling faster than that of cases – particularly among the older age groups who were vaccinated first.

“This is a sign that the vaccine is working,” he said.

He told a Downing Street press conference that people must “keep sticking to the rules, let’s not blow it now” – but said the new data shows “in the real world, across the UK right now that the vaccine is helping both to protect the NHS and to save lives”.

“A single shot of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine or of the Pfizer vaccine works against severe infection among the over-70s with a more than 80% reduction in hospitalisations”, Mr Hancock said.

“In fact, the detailed data show that the protection that you get from catching Covid 35 days after a first jab is even slightly better for the Oxford jab than for Pfizer, albeit both results are clearly very strong.”

The results “may also help to explain why the number of Covid admissions to intensive care units among people over 80 in the UK have dropped to single figures in the last couple of weeks”.