Brighton and Hove could face tighter lockdown following big rise in covid cases
Public health bosses in Brighton and Hove have issued a warning that the city needs to make extra efforts - or risk being put in a local lockdown.
Brighton and Hove City Council announced they have increased their Covid alert level from yellow to amber. It's the last stage before being declared an area of national concern.
The rise is thought to be partly explained by an increase in testing availability in the city.
The Labour MP for Hove, Peter Kyle, has shared his concerns about the possibility of a lockdown in the area.
Meanwhile, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, is calling on the Government to do more to ensure the test and trace system provides an accurate representation of Covid in local communities.
She said: “It’s been complacent, even negligent, in assuming that because the rise in cases here has not been as steep as other parts of the country, there wasn’t a problem in Brighton and Hove.
“We also need more transparency on the criteria for local lockdowns. If we are asking people to restrict their lives further, they need to know why those decisions are being made. It’s a basic issue of public trust, which has been sorely lacking in recent months.
A new testing unit was opened in East Brighton as well as a local mobile testing unit, this meant that, in the last 10 days of September, the rate of local people tested increased by more than 60%.
Supply chain issues at West Sussex warehouse compound testing problems
The rising case numbers in Brighton come as supply chain issues at a nearby warehouse have led to a "significant drop" in test capacity.
The city's director of public health says it was "worrying" to hear of issues in the system, just as the number of tests available in the area had begun to increase.
David Liley, from Brighton Healthwatch, said the on going problems with coronavirus testing felt like a "leaky ship".
A Roche spokesperson said the company "deeply regretted" the disruption and the company was doing everything it could to "ensure there is no impact on the supply of these to the NHS."