NEW figures show 94 people have died from coronavirus in care homes across the county in the past two weeks.

The statistics show 79 deaths have been recorded as coronavirus-related in care homes in areas under Essex County Council.

Data from NHS England also brings the death toll at the East Suffolk and North Essex trust to 234.

The latest figures show 118 patients have lost their life at Colchester Hospital.

There have been 13 deaths at Dovercourt’s Fryatt Hospital and one at Clacton Hospital on April 7.

The full impact of Covid-19 was set to be revealed last night as the Government unveiled the combined number of daily deaths in hospitals, care homes and the community.

There was an 11-day time lag for the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) data on the number of people who have died in care homes after contracting coronavirus.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the public would now receive up-to-date figures to go alongside the number of hospital deaths.

Speaking at the Number 10 press briefing, Mr Hancock said that in an effort to “bring as much transparency as possible” to the death figures, “we will be publishing not just the number of deaths in hospital each day, but the number of deaths in care homes and the community too”.

ONS figures released on Tuesday showed around three in 10 of all Covid-19 deaths are now occurring in care homes.

It is not yet known how many Covid-related deaths there have been at homes in Tendring, which has a large number of residential care homes, although at least one death has been reported to the Gazette.

A care home that was forced to make its staff re-use personal protective equipment has received hordes of donations from the community after an appeal in last week’s Gazette.

Edensor Care Home, in Orwell Road, Clacton, had put measures in place in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus and protect its staff and residents.

But it revealed workers were being instructed to wear the same mask for days at a time due to dwindling supplies and hiked prices.

After every shift, workers were having to spray their masks with alcohol before hanging them on a washing line to dry so they could be re-used.

Now the community and local businesses have rallied together to ensure the home’s staff and residents are as protected as they can be.

Dr David McGuire, who is the chief executive of the Diagrama Foundation, said as a result workers are now being issued a new mask for every shift.

“We cannot thank the community enough and are pleased to say the washing line of masks has been taken down, and hopefully forever,” he said.

“Many people and businesses have donated stocks of surgical masks they did not need and we are truly grateful and thank everyone for their generosity.

“We now have enough supplies hopefully to see us through this challenging time. Protecting our residents is always our number one priority.”

Dr McGuire said there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus at the home.

Clacton MP Giles Watling said he was concerned about care homes and called on people to shield the elderly by staying at home.

He said: “We have got to get the message out to people that we must be careful here because we have a fairly elderly population.

“If coronavirus gets inside a care home, it could spread very quickly.

“Hardworking care staff are ready for it and dealing with the situation very well, but we all have to be aware of the dangers and shield the elderly.

“My wife works in a care home and they haven’t had a single case yet - let’s hope it stays that way.”