MORE than fifty deaths were recorded at south Essex hospital trusts, the latest figures have revealed.

At Southend hospital NHS trust, 24 deaths were recorded in the latest period, while at Basildon and Thurrock hospital NHS trust, 32 deaths were reported.

This comes as 298 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in Southend.

And in the rest of the county, 2,201 new cases of coronavirus were recorded over the weekend, official figures show.

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NHS England figures show 631 people have died in hospital at Southend hospital NHS trust as of 5pm on Sunday.

While the same source shows show 772 people have now died in hospital at Basildon and Thurrock hospitals NHS trust.

It means there have been 72 deaths in the past week in Basildon up from 69 the previous week.

It also means there have been 81 deaths in the past week in Southend, an increase from 70.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."