A new interactive map allows people to see how many coronavirus deaths there have been in their local area.
The map has been developed by the Office for National Statistics, and shows all deaths that occurred in England and Wales where Covid-19 was the underlying cause or mentioned on the death certificate as a contributory factor.
It is the most detailed picture of how Covid-19 has been affecting your neighbourhood so far and includes registered deaths between March 1 and April 18.
The map shows that the worst hit areas are the larger towns in Essex such as Basildon, Chelmsford, Harlow and Southend, which have high death rates in their surrounding neighbourhoods.
The map also shows areas in the south of the county are more badly affected than those in the north of the county. This could be because they are closer to London, which is the country’s worst affected region.
Nick Stripe, Head of Health Analysis, Office for National Statistics, said: “By mid-April, the region with the highest proportion of deaths involving Covid-19 was London, with the virus being involved in more than four in 10 deaths since the start of March.”
“In contrast, the region with the lowest proportion of Covid-19 deaths was the South West, which saw just over one in 10 deaths involving coronavirus.”
“People living in more deprived areas have experienced Covid-19 mortality rates more than double those living in less deprived areas, according to the Office for National Statistics.”
“General mortality rates are normally higher in more deprived areas, but so far COVID-19 appears to be taking them higher still.”
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