CORONAVIRUS cases are rising again in parts of south Essex, despite hopes the Omicron wave has peaked.

The latest data shows Basildon, Castle Point and Rochford all recorded week-on-week rises in infections in the seven days to January 20.

Basildon saw the biggest rise (5%) as it recorded 1,681 new cases in that period – an increase of 79.

Rochford recorded an extra 21 cases compared to the week before, while there was a small increase of four in Castle Point.

The neighbourhoods which saw the biggest increases in the past week were:

Rayleigh North West

83 new cases (up 48%)

Wickford South

90 new cases (up 34%)

Billericay Tye Common

67 new cases (up 59%)

Laindon Central

109 new cases (up 55%)

Langdon Hills

94 new cases (up 30%)

It comes as new analysis suggests nine in 10 young teenagers in the UK are likely to have Covid-19 antibodies.

The estimates, which are for children aged 12 to 15, range from 88.0% in Wales to 91.7% in Scotland, with 90.9% in England and 90.7% in Northern Ireland.

It is the first time figures have been published for this age group.

The presence of coronavirus antibodies suggests someone has had the infection in the past or has been vaccinated.

It takes between two and three weeks after infection or vaccination for the body to make enough antibodies to fight the virus.