THE number of Covid-19 deaths in Tendring have increased 100 per cent in just one week.

There were 18 Covid deaths recorded in the district on Thursday, bringing the total for the seven days to January 21 to 79 - an increase of 107.9 per cent on the previous week.

That brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of positive Covid test in Tendring since the pandemic started to 342.

But the infection rate in the district has continued to decrease.

There were an additional 160 cases reported in the district on Wednesday, bringing the number to 1,160 for the past seven days - a decrease of 603 (-34.2 per cent).

The infection rate has fallen to 851.5 cases per 100,000 people - down from 1,174.3 on January 11.

In comparison, Colchester has seen 1,124 cases in the past week – or 577.3 cases per 100,000 people.