THE rate at which coronavirus spread through Basildon became a significant cause for concern since the early part of September. 

And as a result, council leader Gavin Callaghan was a vocal proponent of the Essex County Council area moving up a tier of Covid restrictions - to 'high' alert. 

That move meant a ban on mixing households indoors, with non-essential journeys also being discouraged.

However, after three weeks of those restrictions, England was plunged into a three-week lockdown. 

What impact has the 'high' alert restrictions had? 

According to the most recent figures available, the number of new cases per 100,000 population has begun to drop. 

The graph below shows, the rate peaking on October 26, at 153.3. 

And since then, it has steadily fallen, with the most recent day available, on October 31, showing a rate of 118.6.

 

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And that trend is also borne out in the seven-day rolling rate of confirmed cases, which also shows a a peak having been reached on October 26, with 287 cases.

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However, the number of patients in Essex hospitals with Covid-19 is still increasing.

The chart, below, is accurate as of 8am on the 3 November.

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As of 3 November there were 210 beds occupied by confirmed Covid-19 patients in Essex hospital trusts. This equates to 7.3 per cent of Trust capacity and is nearly 10 per cent higher than one week previous (27 October).

Hospital admissions, diagnosis and occupancy generally lag behind community cases by a period of four to eight weeks.