NEARLY 5,000 residents in Essex have sadly now died after testing positive for coronavirus.

The latest NHS figures show 4,973 people living across the county have died within 28-days of returning a positive Covid-19 test.

In the Essex County Council jurisdiction 3,930 residents have died, in addition to 605 in Southend and 428 in Thurrock.

The East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, which runs Colchester, has recorded 1,237 coronavirus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

There has been a total of 13,360 deaths due to coronavirus within the East of England.

Across the United Kingdom 126,816 people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, which makes for an infection rate of 189.9 per 100,000 people.