COVID levels in Brighton and Hove are close to being at their highest since the pandemic began, the city's Public health consultant has warned.

Following the easing of Covid rules on Monday, Nicola Rosenberg said confirmed cases of the disease were close to levels in January.

"The virus doesn't follow guidelines," the Brighton and Hove City Council consultant said.

"Fortunately, the NHS vaccination programme has helped to control the impact of the disease. But this week we have started to see an increase in the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19, including critical care.

"Those in hospital predominantly have underlying health conditions and are from a range of different age groups, it is not only those who are elderly.

"Nationally 60 per cent of hospital admissions are in those who are unvaccinated."

Brighton and Hove's vaccination rates for both first and second doses currently lag behind the national average.

Ms Rosenberg said: "Only 52 per cent of people over 18 in the city have had both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

"Not enough people in Brighton & Hove have had both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to stop it spreading.

"There are still unprotected people in our community who could become very unwell if they catch the virus.

The full course of two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines reduce the risk of needing hospital treatment for Covid-19 by more than 93 per cent.

"It is still possible to catch Covid after being vaccinated, but the full course of all the available vaccines reduces that risk by as much as 80 per cent.

"I am asking everyone in the city to take up the vaccination offer and to complete the full course of both doses of the vaccine. You can walk in, no appointment or papers needed seven days a week."

All legal restrictions were be lifted in England on Monday, including the mandatory wearing of masks in indoor settings.

The government has called for the public to exercise caution, with a recommendation that masks should still be used in crowded and enclosed spaces.

All legal limits on the numbers meeting indoors and outdoors were scrapped and all businesses reopened, including nightclubs – for the first time since March 2020.

The Government is recommending that businesses use “certification” as a basis of entry to venues deemed “high risk”, especially when the prevalence of coronavirus is high as it is currently.

Ms Rosenberg said: "Although ‘freedom day’ was welcomed by many, it brought great anxiety for others. We know that a lot of people have retreated back indoors for fear of being exposed to the virus.

"Many shops and hospitality venues are asking customers and staff to continue to wear face coverings if they can, and we fully support this. The government guidance is that it is beneficial to wear a face covering when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet in enclosed and crowded spaces.

"We can all help to contain the spread of the virus by keeping up with the basic good hygiene habits we’ve learned during the pandemic and to meet outdoors in fresh air as much as we can – we can all take advantage of this now that summer is here.

"Other ways we can all help keep each other safe are to take lateral flow Covid tests twice a week, to self-isolate at the first sign of any symptoms, and get a PCR test or self-isolate if asked by NHS test and trace to do so.

"Please don’t throw your face coverings or masks away just yet. They will be useful so you can be considerate of other people when out and about."

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