A COVID-19 sub-variant has resulted in a spike in cases in Colchester and Tendring.

On Friday, Covid infections across Britain rose for the first time in two months.

The increase in cases is believed to be down to what is known as a sub-variant of omicron, which emerged from South Africa.

Weekly deaths as a result of Covid-19 in the UK are still regularly in three figures, with 108 deaths recorded towards the end of last month.

In Colchester, there was an increase in Covid cases by more than 25 per cent in the past seven days, with 176 new cases recorded.

Tendring saw an even bigger increase, with the number of Covid cases increasing by 55 per cent.

Although there has been an increase in cases, the number of deaths for both areas remains low.

Colchester has recorded no deaths over the past seven days due to Covid-19, and Tendring has recorded only two.

Hospital admissions, however, are increasing substantially.

According top Public Health England data, Colchester has seen 360 admissions to hospitals in the area, which is an increase of 21.6 per cent compared to two weeks ago.