Brighton and Hove is “a long way from lockdown” but remains at yellow alert because of prolonged testing difficulties.
The city’s director of public health Alistair Hill said transmission amongst young people, which had accounted for a spike of cases earlier this month, was coming down.
But the continued transmission within households means it’s still important people continue to follow the self-isolation rules.
The number of positive results fell to 31 in the week to 24 September, down from 47 cases the previous week.
This is equivalent to a weekly rate of new cases of 10.7 per 100,000 residents which is lower than England’s rate of 57.6 per 100,000.
However, on 25 September there were 10 positive results, with five the following day. Only two are recorded for 28 and 29 September, but delays in test results coming through means these – and previous days’ tallies – are likely to rise.
As term started on Monday, students and staff at the University of Sussex were told on Monday of a small, single figure outbreak and university bosses released an open letter reassuring the community that health and safety was their top priority.
Alistair Hill, Director of Public Health said: “Brighton and Hove is still a long way from a local lockdown as seen in other parts of the country. But we must all keep playing our part to stop the virus from spreading.
“It’s good to see that this week the number of cases among young people is coming down. But we know a lot of transmission is occurring within households, between family members or flatmates.
“We’re asking everyone who has Covid symptoms to seek a test and self-isolate for 10 days from the first day the symptoms start. If one person in a household has symptoms or tests positive for Covid-19, the whole household must self-isolate for 14 days – even if they don’t have symptoms.
“If you have symptoms (or have had a positive result), try and stay as far away from other members of your household as possible. It is especially important to stay away from anyone you share a household with who is clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable.
“People also need to self-isolate for 14 days if one of their support bubble has symptoms or tests positive, or they are asked to by NHS Test and Trace.
“We know this will be difficult for many people as they cannot leave home for any reason, even to buy food or collect a prescription. It can also be a lonely and anxious time. We are making help available for anyone who is having difficulty while self-isolation through our Community Hub.
“The resources available range from emergency help accessing food to financial and well being advice.”
The new appointment-only walk-though testing site in East Brighton is now operating. Tests must be booked in advance on the NHS website.
