THE number of young people testing positive for coronavirus in Brighton and Hove is rising, as weekly cases rise by almost 50 per cent.

The city's public health consultant Nicola Rosenberg has warned of a large rise of covid-19 cases among young people who are yet to be vaccinated.

Latest figures released by Brighton and Hove City Council show in the seven days up to June 4, there were 82 confirmed new cases of the virus - a rise of 44 per cent.

That is equivalent to a weekly rate of 28 per 100,000 residents.

However, the rate of infection is lower than what has been seen in the South East, which has a rate of 32 per 100,000.

Across England, the rate is 48 per 100,000.

According to the council, rates among the 60+ age group, who have been able to get both vaccinations, are "very low".

However, the largest rise was among young people who have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated yet.

Reacting to the figures, Nicola Rosenberg said: “It’s great that the NHS vaccination programme has now reached people in their twenties. We can see from the very low rates in people over sixty, who’ve been able to get both jobs now, how well the vaccines are at beating Covid.

“Everyone who signed up for their first vaccination will get good protection - typically two weeks after the jab. But they’ll still be vulnerable for another couple of months because you need two doses to get full benefit. It’s still possible to get Covid between jabs, although the symptoms will be less severe.

“We need to give the NHS vaccination programme enough time to do its work.

“To see our city buzzing in the sun again, it could be easy to imagine the pandemic is over. But it isn’t – not yet.

“To keep Brighton & Hove safe everyone needs to keep up the Covid safety measures all the time. Especially where people get close together, indoors and in busy streets, garden parties, BBQs and after school-clubs, as well as places like shops, bars and restaurants.

“With more hot weather forecast for the weekend, I can imagine how tempting it might be to forget all about Covid - but we can’t afford to do that yet.

“By now we all know what we need do to stop the virus spreading. We just need to remember to keep at it, and to encourage each other to keep going too.”