Local authorities in Essex have declared a "major incident" as the number of coronavirus cases threatens to overwhelm health services in the county.
The announcement has been made in response to a "significant growing demand" on hospitals across the county and will enable local leaders to seek further support from the Government, the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) said.
The ERF - which is made up of members of the NHS, emergency services and local authorities - said the number of patients in Essex receiving treatment for coronavirus had now increased to levels exceeding those seen at the peak of the first wave.
It added that such numbers were expected to increase further in the coming days and that cases were particularly high in Mid and