Covid cases have begun to fall across south Essex, apart from in Castle Point.

The borough saw a week-on-week rise of 26 cases, with 493 new infections recorded in the seven days to October 26.

Benfleet North is the neighbourhood with the highest infection rate in south Essex, with 947 cases per 100,000 people.

It recorded 75 new cases in the week ending October 26.

Basildon has seen the biggest fall in cases (102), with Southend (99) and Thurrock (92) close behind.

Here is the latest weekly data for the five boroughs and districts in south Essex:

Basildon

804 new cases

Infection rate: 428.7

Castle Point

493 new cases

Infection rate: 544.6

Rochford

475 new cases

Infection rate: 542.1

Southend

679 new cases

Infection rate: 371.5

Thurrock

663 new cases

Infection rate: 377.7

It comes as one in four older adults who test positive for Covid-19 no longer follow the rules for self-isolating, a new survey suggests.

Some 75% of respondents aged between 35 and 54 said they fully adhered to the isolation requirements for the entire 10-day period after testing positive for coronavirus.

This is down from 86% in the summer, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which compiled the survey.

A higher proportion of young adults are following the rules, however, up from 75% to 82%.

The figures are based on responses collected from adults in England between September 27 and October 2.

Read more:

They suggest that most people are still following the requirement to self-isolate, with adherence among all adults standing at 78%.

This is broadly unchanged from 79% in the previous survey in July, but is “significantly lower” than levels seen earlier in the year, such as 84% in April and 86% in May, the ONS said.

The proportion of people saying that self-isolation has affected their wellbeing has fallen.

Around one in three (34%) of those who tested positive reported that isolating had a negative effect on their mental health, down from 42% in July.

The ONS added that the figures should be treated with care, as the survey was based on a relatively small sample of respondents who chose to report their own behaviour.