Brighton Council chief urges city to keep virus at bay as R rate exceeds England average Brighton News

He said: “On Thursday we learned that new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have jumped 160% over the past week.

“Our rate per 100,000 inhabitants has now exceeded the rest of the country.

“Take that into account – our Covid-19 rates here in Brighton and Hove now exceed the rest of England.”

According to the latest figures for seven days through June 14, the infection rate in Brighton and Hove now stands at 99.4 per 100,000, while the rate for England is now 81.3 per 100 000.

Cllr Mac Cafferty urged all residents, including those who have been vaccinated, to take regular lateral flow tests and follow Covid safety guidelines when mixing with others.

He added that the majority of new cases were in adolescents and young people under the age of 25, while older groups who were doubly vaccinated had the lowest rates of Covid-19.

Cllr Mac Cafferty said: “I must stress that I am not drawing attention to this to blame these young people who have, in many ways, had to sacrifice more than any other age group during the pandemic so far. .

“Most of these young people have not yet been able to get vaccinated.

“So it’s great news that everyone over 18 can now get their jab and I urge everyone to do so without delay.

“Until everyone can accept the immunization offer, the rest of us who have had our first or second vaccine must continue to play our part to support each other and keep the city safe.

“Extreme cases can still occur in younger age groups, along with persistent symptoms called ‘long Covid’.

“I know many of us are tired, but it is essential to stop Covid among those who are not vaccinated and to do our part to suppress the more infectious Delta variant.

“None of us want to go back to tighter restrictions or see loved ones in hospital. The pandemic is not over yet and we can all still play our part in bringing down infections.”