Covid-19: we cannot be complacent

Brighton & Hove remains at medium alert. But there are too many new cases and we cannot be complacent.

In the week up to 17 October (based on data published on 21 October) there were 244 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the city. This is similar to 250 in the previous week. The city rate of 83.9 per 100,000 cases is lower than the national rate of 174.8 per 100,000 in England. Brighton & Hove remains in Tier 1 at the medium alert level. 

The majority of confirmed cases continue to be among young people aged 15-24 years old, but numbers are growing among adults aged 30-44 years old.

Alistair Hill, Director of Public Health, said:

“We continue to see too many new cases and cannot afford to be complacent or take risks. We must all continue to do everything we can to stop the spread of Covid in our city.

“Covid-19 is a highly infectious virus that spreads rapidly when people from different households mix.

“You must maintain social distancing and keep to the rule of six. We’re asking everyone to limit how many people they see in a day and try to meet outdoors where the risk is lower than indoors.

“Wear a face-covering if there is a risk you can’t maintain two metres distance in busy places like streets, queues and bus stops - not just when required to do so.

"Self-isolating at the first sign of symptoms and getting tested is still essential when it comes to protecting your own health, protecting the most vulnerable and helping to prevent local outbreaks. There are a number of test sites in the city now and tests are much easier and faster to get.”