South Essex rate drops The rate of new cases of coronavirus infections in south Essex has dropped significantly in the last week.

New figures released for each local authority in England show the rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19.

The figures, for the seven days to July 24, are based on tests carried out in laboratories, pillar one of the Government's testing programme, and in the wider community, pillar two.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

In Southend, it shows the rate has dropped from 9.9 to 2.2 while in Basildon the rate almost halved, from 6.5 to 3.8.

In Castle Point, the rate has remained the same, at 5.6.

The three "hotspots" identified by the Government are in Blackburn with Darwen, Leicester and Oldham.

In Blackburn with Darwen, the rate has fallen from 83.9 to 75.2, with 112 new cases recorded.

In Leicester, the rate continues to fall and has dropped from 82.5 to 61.9, with 220 new cases.

In Oldham, the rate has jumped from 11.0 to 48.4, with 114 new cases recorded.

Other areas reporting notable week-on-week jumps include Trafford, where the rate jumped from from 9.3 to 31.7, with 75 new cases.