A message from Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health for East Sussex

“We’re seeing a worrying rise in Covid infections in parts of East Sussex. We must act now to change this trend, or our lives will get much more difficult.

“The number of people with new cases of Covid has doubled in the Hastings area in recent days and is climbing sharply in Rother. We aren’t seeing the same rises in other parts of the county yet, but that could change quickly.

“The good news is that we can control this situation together. We need to do all these things:

• Don’t meet anyone indoors unless they’re part of your household (or a support bubble).
• Reduce social contact where you can. The fewer people we see, the less the virus spreads.
• If you must go out, avoid crowded places. For instance, pick less busy times if you need to go shopping
• If you get Covid-like symptoms, even a mild cough, self-isolate and book a test – they’re easy to arrange at a site near you
• Think carefully about your Christmas socialising. Up to three households will be able to meet in a ‘bubble’ from 23-27 December. But could you manage with less contact just for this year?

“If we all choose to take these actions (and keep washing hands and covering faces), we’ll be able to put the virus into reverse in East Sussex. We’re in the medium tier (high alert) of Covid restrictions but the Government will review this next week.

"The actions you, your family and your friends take will decide what happens next. None of us wants tighter restrictions.

"We can change this, together."

A national plan to vaccinate patients against coronavirus began this week, starting with some over-80s who are attending hospital or being discharged home from hospital.

The vaccine will gradually be offered more widely in coming months, according to people’s age and risk.

The NHS will contact you when it’s your turn, so please be patient until then.

The importance and demand of frontline care roles is at a high right now. We offer a fantastic opportunity to serve your local community with gold-standard training. If you're patient and caring with a desire to make a difference you'd make a great support worker.

Join our free virtual event on Friday 18 December and find out what it’s like to be a Support Worker in the Joint Community Rehabilitation Team (JCR). Our team will tell you all about our support worker vacancies, job role benefits and explain a typical ‘day in the life’ of the role.

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