The number of coronavirus cases in Maldon increased by 343 over the weekend, official figures show – and one more death was recorded.

A total of 17,422 cases had been confirmed in Maldon when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated yesterday (March 14), up from 17,079 on Friday.

The cumulative rate of infection in Maldon, which covers the whole pandemic, stands at 26,639 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 29,434.

The dashboard shows cases have been rising across the UK since March 2, days after the legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid was scrapped on February 24.

The increase in cases comes as health secretary Sajid Javid has said the UK should brace for a rise in Covid infections after the easing of restrictions.

READ MORE: A12 and A120 closures affecting mid Essex drivers this week

Mr Javid said the nation remained in a “very good position” but rising infection rates were to be “expected”.

There was also one more coronavirus-related death recorded over the weekend in Maldon.

The dashboard shows 166 people had died in the area by Monday – up from 165 on Friday.

It means there has been one death in the past week, which is an increase on none the previous week.

They were among 16,329 deaths recorded across the East of England.

The figures include anyone who died within 28 days of a positive test result for Covid-19, and whose usual residence was in Maldon.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

Figures reported on a Monday are usually likely to be lower as a result of a lag in reporting deaths over the weekend.