Analysis
By Simon Dedman, BBC Essex political reporter
This is essentially the people who are running Essex breaking the glass and hitting the alarm button because they are so concerned about the NHS, and especially the hospitals in south Essex, being overwhelmed and running out of beds.
In some cases there is no spare capacity as it is and critical care beds are in very short supply.
I think what this means is patients will be sent out of county - perhaps the likes of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire - where rates are rising but are not as bad as they are in Essex.