CORONAVIRUS infection rates have dropped over seven days in north Essex, new Government figures have revealed.

The latest rolling seven-day infection rate of new cases of coronavirus have been released for the week ending on Sunday.

The figures are based on tests carried out in laboratories, pillar one of the Government's testing programme, and in the wider community, pillar two.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

In Colchester the rate has fallen to 5.1 cases per 100,000 people, with 10 cases being reported within this time period.

This is a drop from 7.2 the week before, when 14 cases were recorded.

The infection rate in the town is in the bottom ten per cent of local authorities across the country.

In Tendring the infection rate has also dropped, from 3.4, or five cases, to 0.7, or one case.

This is the lowest rate out of all the local authorities which have recorded cases across the UK.

Rates are falling across north and mid Essex, with Braintree's dropping from 5.9 to 3.9 and Maldon's falling from 6.2 to 4.6.

However Rochford, Thurrock, Southend and Chelmsford have seen their rate rise.

The highest increases across Britain have been seen in Sunderland, where the figure has jumped from 34.2 to 94.3 and in Birmingham, which has shot up from 53 to 88.8.

The list has been calculated based on Public Health England data published on Sunday.