Mid Sussex Covid Rates Second Highest In The Country

Friday, 10 December 2021 07:52

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

Covid-19 rates in Mid Sussex have been among the highest in the country over the past month, councillors have been told.

The news was shared by district council leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (December 8).

He said:

“Over the last month, Mid Sussex has had the unfortunate distinction of having the second highest rates of Covid-19 levels in the country.

“Pleasingly, they are showing some signs of reducing compared to other areas of the country but still remain incredibly high.”

According to data from the West Sussex Public Health & Social Research Unit, Mid Sussex has recorded 1,264 new cases since December 3 – the highest in the county – which is a rate of 824.2 per 100,000 population.

This compares to 357 new cases in Adur, 1,119 in Arun, 881 in Chichester, 845 in Crawley, 755 in Horsham, and 652 in Worthing.

Since the start of the pandemic, 289 people in the district have died within 28 days of their first positive test.

Encouraging people to take up their booster jabs when called, Mr Ash-Edwards added: “It remains the case that a level of caution is required in our community to ensure that we can turn the tide on that infection level.”

The meeting was held minutes after the Prime Minister announced his ‘Plan B’ restrictions in the wake of the spread of the Omicron variant.

The restrictions include the need to wear a face mask in most public indoor venues, other than pubs and restaurants; for an NHS Covid Pass to be mandatory for entering nightclubs and other crowded venues, and for people to work from home if they can.

Mr Ash-Edwards said the council would ‘fully review and implement’ the new guidance.

He added:

“[I] reiterate the thanks for everyone involved in the vaccination programme in our district, which is incredibly important – especially in the face of a new variant.”