Seven areas across south Essex are recording some of the highest rates of Covid in the country.

Basildon has the highest number of cases in the area with 923.

Southend is second with 768 cases followed by Thurrock on 733 and Rochford on 552.

Castle Point has 512 cases.

The figures, for the seven days to October 21, are based on the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in either a lab-reported or rapid lateral flow test, by specimen date.

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

Data for the most recent four days (October 22-25) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 255 (68%) have seen a week-on-week rise in rates and 122 (32%) have seen a fall.

• Rayleigh North West – 94 cases, 1,021.7 infection rate

• Rayleigh South West – 87 cases, 979.6 infection rate

• Billericay North East – 76 cases, 1,079.9 infection rate

• Benfleet North – 71 cases, 897.4 infection rate

• Rayleigh South East – 70 cases, 864.0 infection rate

• Billericay Queen's Park – 69 cases, 946.2 infection rate

• Canvey Island Newlands – 60 cases, 879.8 infection rate

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Elsewhere in the country Cheltenham in Gloucestershire has the highest rate in the UK, with 1,478 new cases in the seven days to October 21, the equivalent of 1,273.7 per 100,000 people.

This is up sharply from 602.4 in the seven days to October 14.

Blaenau Gwent in Wales has the second highest rate, up from 649.8 to 1,213.9, with 850 new cases.

Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire has the third highest rate, up from 484.4 to 1,212.9, with 1,172 new cases.