THE coronavirsus death toll continues to rise and has reached over the grim number of 400 at Southend Hospital trust, with council bosses pleading with the public to follow the rules.

The latest figures show 403 people have now died from coronavirus at the trust, an increase of 14 over the weekend, which has left NHS nurse and councillor Kevin Robinson appealing for residents to follow the new rules set out by Boris Johnson yesterday evening.

The Labour councillor described the grim situation NHS staff are facing as cases and deaths continue to rise across Essex.

There have now been 573 deaths at Basildon and Thurrock Hospital Trust, with two more coronavirus related deaths seen at the hospital trust at the weekend.

Kevin Robinson, who works in Southend as a nurse and is the councillor in charge of business, culture, and tourism, said: “The tier four restrictions are not that different to those in lockdown. There’s not many more things you can close.

“I would not suggest closing supermarkets. They are essential, despite cases showing in the stores.

“The cases and deaths make for pretty grim reading at the moment.

“The situation inside the hospitals is pretty grim too.

“I know people who have died on the frontline fighting the virus. It’s really sad and hard to see.

“Our sympathies must go out to those who have lost loved ones throughout this pandemic.”

At Southend Hospital Trust, there have been 38 deaths in the past week, up from 37 the previous week, while at the Basildon and Thurrock Hospital Trust, there have been 54 deaths in the past week, the same number as the previous week.

Ian Gilbert, leader of Southend Council, added: “It’s very sad news. My deepest sympathy goes out to those who have lost loved ones.

“It shows the serious situation we are in.

“The health service in our area is struggling to cope.

“The admissions and discharges have stabilised, but that can always change.

“The caveat for that is we are dealing with a new strain of the virus.

“New information about the new strain is coming out all the time about how to deal with it and how transmissible it is.

“We’ve just got to hope the vaccine rollout is successful and there are not any hiccups.

“This will be tough for several months but the vaccine offers some hope.”

Across the East of England, there have been a total of 5,276 deaths.

A major incident was declared for across the whole of Essex last week, with NHS services in the county struggling to cope with a rise in cases.