Number of new covid cases drops by a third in Brighton and Hove

The number of new coronavirus cases has dropped by a third in Brighton and Hove in a week, according to new figures.

There were 2,499 new cases of covid-19 in the seven days to last Monday (17 January) compared with 3,796 in the previous seven days.

The weekly rate for Brighton and Hove fell from 1,301 for every 100,000 people to 857 – a drop of almost 35 per cent.

The number of patients in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, and the neighbouring Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital had dropped to 45 by Friday (21 January).

There were 46 in the two hospitals a week earlier, on Friday 14 January, with five or fewer in intensive care or high dependency beds on both dates.

However, University Hospitals Sussex, which runs the two hospitals and five others across Sussex had 152 patients with the virus earlier in the week.

NHS England said that the number on Tuesday (18 January) was 152 – up from 141 on the same day the previous week.

And this was 65 per cent higher than four weeks earlier when there were 92.

One death was registered in Brighton and Hove in the first week of the year with covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.

It compares with 19 in the final six weeks of 2021.

Brighton and Hove continues to have one of the lowest take up rates for the coronavirus booster jab, with 148,304 or 61.4 per cent having the third vaccine dose so far.

The director of public health in Brighton and Hove, Alistair Hill, said: “Cases in the city continue to move in the right direction but the level of covid infection in the community remains high.

“National data shows that one in twenty people in the south east had covid last week so high levels of caution are still needed.

“It’s important to remember that the government’s announcement of the lifting the ‘plan B’ measures is not a complete end to guidance.

“Guidance continues to be in place to limit transmission, protect our health and manage the pressure on our NHS and social care services.

“This means we need to keep doing what we can to keep each other safe. Please keep testing (and self-isolate following a positive result), wearing face coverings in crowded and enclosed places, opening windows, washing your hands and getting your vaccinations.

“We also need to remember that the ‘plan B’ requirements around wearing a face covering and using a covid pass remain in place for another week and we must continue to follow them.”