Brighton coronavirus rate continues to plummet in lockdown

But Brighton and Hove City Council has warned that "a high number of patients still need critical care".

The continued fall in the number of positive tests recorded in the city is proof of the success of the ongoing lockdown, the council's director of public health Alistair Hill has said.

A temporary coronavirus testing centre in Preston Park, Brighton

There were about 330 new cases each day at the start of January, he said, but this fell to about 60 by the end of the month.

In the first week of February, the most recent complete figures, there were 346 confirmed new cases in the city.

This marked a 39 per cent decrease on the previous week and equivalent to a weekly rate of 119 per 100,000 residents.

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In the week leading up to January 29 the rate was 194, the week before it was 303 and in the seven days up to January 15 it was 494.4.

The previous week, the figure had stood at 776.3.

Currently, rate for England is 203 per 100,000 and the rate for the South East is 166 per 100,000.

Director of public health Mr Hill said: “Living in lockdown is difficult for all of us, but this steady reduction shows how effective it has been at slowing transmission of the virus.

"I want to thank everybody who has been staying at home and keeping to the guidelines. It’s not been easy, but it’s working.

A closed TUI travel agents in North Street, Brighton, during the third national lockdown

"It’s really important that we maintain this. Please remember that during lockdown we should all stay at home as much as possible.

"When we do go out, we need to stay within our local area and keep thinking ‘hands, face, space’ - especially during the school half term next week.

“If you have been vaccinated it is really important that you carry on following the lockdown rules and the hands, face, space guidance.”

Mr Hill also revealed how many people had received their first jabs in Sussex through the NHS vaccination programme.

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He said: “Across the county, more than 350,000 people have been vaccinated now and last weekend alone, more than 10,000 people got their jabs in vaccination centres, local vaccination services, pharmacies, and hospital hubs.

"People who are housebound are being contacted by local teams to arrange a home visit.”

"From this week, anyone aged over 70 or who is clinically extremely vulnerable who has not been vaccinated yet can now book directly with the NHS online or by calling 119.

"Everyone else is will be contacted by the NHS to book and appointment when it is their turn."