THE leader of Brighton and Hove City Council is urging people to keep contact with others to a minimum after a "rapid" rise in the city's coronavirus rate.

Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty issued a statement yesterday after Hastings and Rother were escalated to Tier 4 as a result of the soaring number of coronavirus cases in each area.

Many of these cases have been put down to a new strain of coronavirus, with heightened Tier 4 restrictions now in place across much of the South East to contain this variant of the virus.

The Argus: Christmas shoppers in Brighton over the weekendChristmas shoppers in Brighton over the weekend

Other Tier 4 areas include London, Kent and Medway, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey (excluding Waverley), Havant, Gosport and Portsmouth, Hertfordshire, Essex (excluding Tendring, Uttlesford and Colchester), Central Bedfordshire, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton and Peterborough.

Brighton and Hove remains in Tier 2. However the weekly coronavirus rate is rising in the city, with the figure having doubled in less than a week.

In the seven days leading up to December 10 there were 234 confirmed new cases in the city, giving a weekly rate of 80.4 cases per 100,000 population.

In the seven days leading up to December 15, there were 458 new cases reported in the city, giving a weekly rate of 157.5 cases per 100,000 population.

While the upward trend is cause for concern, this is still considerably lower than other areas in the South East which are currently under Tier 4 restrictions.

The Argus: Christmas shoppers in North Street, Brighton, over the weekendChristmas shoppers in North Street, Brighton, over the weekend

These include:

  • Hastings, which has a rate of 732.8 new cases per 100,000 population
  • Rother, which has a rate of 500.6 new cases per 100,000 population
  • Hackney and City of London, which has a rate of 466.2 new cases per 100,000 population
  • Surrey, which has a rate of 285.5 new cases per 100,000 population
  • Portsmouth, which has a rate of 280.1 new cases per 100,000 population

The figures, for the seven days to December 15, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days (December 16-19) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

To combat the rising coronavirus rate in Brighton and Hove, the city's Green party group convenor Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty issued a plea to residents to "keep your Christmases small and short".

He said: "I recognise that the last-minute tightening of the Christmas rules is very difficult for many people. However, it is our duty to ensure the safety of each other. 

"The more time you spend with people, the more chance you have of bringing Covid into your home and into other people’s homes during Christmas.

"So please keep contact to a minimum.

"The bottom line is that right now in our city, the number of new cases has doubled in one week.

"This increase is very concerning. And we know surrounding areas have also shown a rapid growth.

“We don't yet know what this new strain of the virus means for us and we’re sadly anticipating a further rise in cases.

The Argus: Shoppers queue outside Primark in Brighton over the weekend Credit: Simon DackShoppers queue outside Primark in Brighton over the weekend Credit: Simon Dack

“So, while we’re allowed to spend Christmas with others, my ask of everyone is to stay at home over Christmas and new year as much as possible.

“Keep your Christmases small and short.  

"More and more people are going into hospital and people are still dying. I know we have the resolve and resilience to get through this and adapt our Christmases this year. 

“Thank you also to the many many people in our city who have already changed their plans and are following the guidelines.”