Council leader Mark Cory has said he does not believe Colchester schools should reopen tomorrow. Main picture: PA A COUNCIL leader has said he does not believe Colchester schools should reopen tomorrow. Secondary schools, and colleges in Clacton, Colchester, and Harwich will not open until January 18, with remote learning being rolled-out instead. But primary schools are expected to open today as planned. Schools in mid and south Essex are remaining closed due to high infection numbers. On Sunday Boris Johnson said parents should send primary-age children back to schools that are open this week. The Prime Minister said he has “no doubt” that classrooms are safe and that the risk to young people was “very, very small” amid calls from teaching unions to close all schools for the next two weeks.
MORE support from the Government is desperately needed for Essex’s struggling NHS services, Colchester leaders have claimed. Yesterday Essex Resilience Forum declared a “major incident” in the county due to the pressure on NHS services caused by rapidly rising coronavirus infection. The move will allow the group, which is made up of NHS bodies, blue light responders and local authorities, to ask for further support from the Government. The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals in Essex has now surpassed those seen during the first peak of the pandemic in the spring. Mark Cory, leader of Colchester Council, said the Government needs to do more before the situation gets out of control.
SOARING cases of Covid-19 in north Essex has pushed coronavirus patient numbers to more than 50 per cent higher than in the spring peak. According to the latest figures from the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust, which runs Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, there were 212 patients with Covid-19 at the trust as of December 22. This is up from 169 a week previously - an increase of about 25 per cent. This is more than the trust had during any point in April, where the highest number was 143, an increase of 48 per cent. The news comes as the borough’s coronavirus infection rate almost doubled within a week, with almost 800 cases confirmed in the latest seven day period.