SOUTHEND's Covid-19 cases have jumped by more than 600 - with 5,000 more confirmed in the rest of Essex.

Public Health England figures show that 11,013 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Monday, in Southend, up from 10,325 the same time on Friday.

The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government's mass testing programme.

The rate of infection in Southend now stands at 6,014 cases per 100,000 people, far higher than the England average of 4,807.

In the rest of Essex, figures show that 83,759 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Monday, up from 78,517 the same time on Friday, a rise of 5,242.