HOSPITAL admissions for Covid-19 have risen by 15 per cent in Essex, new figures show.

Essex County Council initially stated that figures showed a seven per cent drop in the number of admissions to hospitals in the past week, however, they have now issued a clarification.

A spokesman said: "As at 05/01/21, the data Essex County Council has received shows that there were 1,024 beds occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients in Essex hospital trusts. This equates to 34% of trust capacity and is 7% lower compared to bed occupancy one week previous (29/12/20). However, data was not received from one hospital meaning that the data relating to bed occupancy stated above is under reported by circa 250. With this data added, it equates to an approximate 15% increase."

In the seven days to December 31, there were 15,474 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Essex. This is the latest date for which complete data is available.

On the same date, the weekly case rate for Essex is 1,039 per 100,000, and the highest weekly case rates were in Epping Forest and Castle Point, with rates of 1,321.9 and 1,326.3 per 100,000, respectively.