TENDRING has been the worst hit area in the country for Covid-19 deaths, new figures show.

Hundreds of people have died from coronavirus in the district as the total death toll for the UK passes 200,000.

Although the number of deaths remains well below previous waves, infections and hospital admissions are rising across the country, driven by the variant Omicron BA.2.

The UK surpassed 200,000 deaths on June 25 – although this has only just been confirmed due to the time it takes for deaths to be registered.

This includes 756 in Tendring by July 13, according to the latest data on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

This means 513.1 people have died per 100,000 people and makes it the worst hit area per head in England, with 513 deaths per 100,000 people as of July 12.

In Colchester, there have been 507 deaths related to Covid.

This means 257.1 people have died per 100,000 people,lower than the 279.7 average for England as a whole.

While infections have risen recently – with an estimated 3.5 million across the UK in the week ending July 7 – the number of deaths has slowed significantly compared to previous peaks, with vaccines weakening the link between infection and serious illness.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy and our sympathies are with everyone who has lost loved ones.

"We are committed to learning lessons from the pandemic and will be cooperating fully with the Covid-19 public inquiry.

“We are rightly focusing testing on those at higher risk of severe illness and our world-leading Covid vaccination programme has saved countless lives and continues to do so – more than four in five of those eligible have received their spring booster and we urge anyone eligible to get their jab.

“NHS England has already begun preparations to ensure they are ready to deploy Covid vaccines to those eligible as part of an autumn Covid booster programme to ensure protection is maintained ahead of winter.”