POSITIVE cases of coronavirus in Essex have risen by 25 over the weekend, latest figures show.

Figures from Public Heath England show 5,755 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Sunday 9 August in Essex - up from 5,730 at the same time on Thursday.

There were eight new cases confirmed on Friday, nine on Saturday and a further eight on Sunday.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.

The health body is also 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 Essex is far below the national average at 386 cases per 100,000 people compared to 476. for England.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased to 310,825 after increasing by 1,062 in the space of 24 hours

Essex’s cases were among the 225,230 recorded across the East of England.

A further 10 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England as of Sunday. It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,411.