‘Worrying’ Covid infection rates in Hastings and Rother discussed by council leaders

Speaking at an East Sussex County Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 7), the authority’s director of public health Darrell Gale warned council leaders that the latest data (including some as-yet unpublished figures) pointed to a “worrying increase” in cases in both Hastings and Rother.

The rise comes after a period of significantly lower than average infections in both areas, with Hastings only recently having the lowest infection rate in the whole of England.

Mr Gale said: “This is of quite a concern because all of these cases will have become infected during the last weeks of lockdown.

“These are cases that have come in with symptoms last week and generally it takes five to eight days for symptoms to develop from infection.

“We’ve also had a look at some data from the [track and trace] app, which isn’t published data but shows that Hastings in particular is a place where cases who are identified have more contacts than in other areas.

“That is not to say they are contacting those people after they have been infected, although it is probably during the period of infectivity that they have contacted a larger number of people than other areas of social context.”

Mr Gale said the as-yet unpublished data (received by the council on Monday, December 6) showed Hastings had an infection rate of 164 cases per 100,000 people – more than double the rate reported as of November 30.

The unpublished data showed Rother had an infection rate of 141 cases per 100,000 people, which while lower than the 154 cases per 100,000 reported last week was still significantly high.

Mr Gale said many of the new cases in Hastings were among 10 to 19 year-olds, particularly males, and were connected to outbreaks in schools. However, there were also increases in other age bands, particularly 30 to 59-year-old women.

Mr Gales said the vast majority of the cases in Rother were among 50 to 59-year-olds and included care home staff, although there were also infections among 80 to 89-year-olds, those over 90-years-old and those of school age (10 to 19 year-olds).

To address the rise in cases, Mr Gale said the council would be putting out additional public information, urging people to continue taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus. 

He said the council was also speaking with local schools where there had been outbreaks to see if they would consider bringing forward school holidays or to hold an extra week of online learning for the affected year groups.

Mr Gale said the council would bring additional testing to the area, with a mobile testing unit to be stationed at the Pelham Place car park in Hastings on Thursday and Friday this week.

He urged people with even “the mildest symptoms” to seek testing.

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The rise in cases saw concerns raised by a number of councillors present at the meeting. 

They included Battle and Crowhurst councillor Kathryn Field (Lib Dem), who raised fears about efforts to address infections having a disproportionate impact on the local economy. 

She said: “As a Rother resident I am extremely concerned to hear that our rate is rising. I’m particularly concerned to hear that it is rising amongst those very vulnerable, much older people in our community. 

“Clearly comms are going to be essential. I have great faith in the county’s comms but I would just draw a slight warning to say we have had a really tough time in our high streets in the county and I would hate for anything that is warning us to be careful to really undermine the slight recovery. 

“My own high street is doing quite well at the moment, but it is always very vulnerable and in the long term we do need our businesses to thrive.”

Hastings councillor Godfrey Daniel (Lab) took a different tack, however. He said: “I think there has been an element of complacency in Hastings and Rother because our levels have been so low.

“I know our communications department will do its best to get the message out but we do actually need the media to help highlight this really worrying turn of events, because without people changing their habits then it is going to get worse.

“I’m sorry Cllr Field, I do feel for the small businesses, but at the end of the day we are talking about people’s lives, literally their lives, and I think people in Hastings and Rother need to take this very, very seriously.”

Cllr John Barnes (Con), another Rother councillor, added his thoughts. 

He said: “I feel reluctant to put myself between Cllr Field and Cllr Daniel’s crossfire, but I have to say I have some sympathy with Cllr Field’s point.

“The problem with the economic downturn is that too can have adverse health consequences. I think therefore that some of the aftermath of Covid is going to be as damaging as Covid itself.”

Meanwhile Matthew Beaver (Con, Hastings Maze Hill and West St Leonards) said: “I agree with Cllr Godfrey Daniel about being very disappointed in the figures recently coming from Hastings, given the fact that a number of months ago Hastings  [had] the lowest rate around. 

“Where I hope Cllr Daniel is wrong is that it is all down to complacency, because I think complacency is far more difficult to overcome, far more difficult to reverse  and far more difficult to counter in terms of getting those figures down.”

He added: “I certainly would not want to see the whole of East Sussex going into Tier Three. Certainly a couple of weeks ago we were talking a couple of weeks ago about wanting to go into Tier One, because the figures were so good. 

“Now a week later we are looking at the possibility of going into Tier Three, which is very heartbreaking.”

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Councillors also raised questions about the progress of bringing coronavirus vaccinations to East Sussex. 

Mr Gale said: “The vaccination programme is being led by the NHS and it is really going at pace. There is a lot of change in how and when and the information coming out. 

“The logistics of this particular vaccine are very difficult and obviously there is a desire not to waste any of it and get it out to the most vulnerable.”