The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Essex has risen above 300.
Public Health England figures show that 301 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am Monday morning (March 30) in Essex, up from 244 the same time on Sunday.
A week before, there were 67 cases.
They were among the 1,339 cases recorded across the East of England, a figure which rose by 200 over the 24-hour period.
Across the UK, 22,141 people had tested positive for coronavirus as of 9am on Monday, up from 19,522 at the same point on Sunday, Department of Health and Social Care figures show.
In total, 134,946 people had been tested, and, as of 5pm on Sunday, 1,408 had died.
The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the figures were a “powerful reminder" of the importance of following the Government’s guidelines, as he held the Government’s daily press conference in Downing Street on Monday.
Mr Raab announced the Government had reached an arrangement with airlines including British Airways, Virgin and Easy Jet to bring stranded tourists home.
"As countries work to secure their borders and stop the further spread of this deadly virus, we appreciate that an unprecedented number of UK travellers are trying to get home," he said.
"We’re not talking a few hundred or even a few thousand, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people travelling around the world.
"We appreciate the difficult predicament they find themselves in and we also recognise the anxiety of families here in the UK who are concerned to get their loved ones home.
"I want to assure them that this government, their government, is working around the clock to support, advise and to help British travellers get home."
Beginning this week, the Government will begin to charter planes to rescue Brits stranded in countries where commercial flights are no longer operating.
Mr Raab said £75 million of government money will be made available to charter the flights, to keep costs down for travellers – although they will still have to book and pay for their seats.
However, those travellers who are in countries where commercial options are still available should book their own tickets home direct with airlines without delay, he said.
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