A WEEK ago, I held a press conference at Hove Town Hall in my capacity as leader, with the chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council, to talk about the coronavirus.

I called the press conference to reassure residents. I know there’s a lot of worried people out there, and all sorts of misinformation is flying around.

My columns are submitted on a Friday so in this case February 14. If the facts I outline below have changed by the time of publication they will be found on the council website, and I will be putting out further statements in the coming days.

The facts at the time of writing are these.

The first person known to have contracted coronavirus from Brighton and Hove has fully recovered, has no traces of the virus left and has left hospital. I hope they’re able to spend time with family and loved ones away from the media glare.

The remaining people we know to have the virus are all doing well.

The student at Paca who was asked to stay home has tested negative.

All GP surgeries in the city are open and our schools too all remained open. Thank you to all those staff during a really stressful and uncertain time.

If you think you’re at risk, if you think you have been in contact with a confirmed case, contact 111 and they will advise you. If Public Health England suspect you have been in contact with a confirmed case, they will contact you, as a part of their contact tracing investigations.

The most important thing we can all do is practise good hygiene. Washing our hands with soap and hot water, using tissues, wiping down surfaces and all the basic practices we carry out to combat any virus. This was the key message I tried to convey at the press conference because residents are asking me what they can do to keep safe, and I have personally briefed all councillors on this and asked them to put up posters and distribute this information in their wards.

The other things I wanted to talk about this week was events and outdoor activities.

Last week I enjoyed one of the many privileges that comes with being leader of the council. I was offered the opportunity to open the Brighton Festival at a packed Brighton Dome alongside guest director Lemn Sissay. Lemn is an artist of international standing who has brought a burst of imagination to this year’s festival, and he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Kate Tempest. It was an honour to welcome him to our city and our creative family here in Brighton and Hove.

The arts and culture play a key role in enriching our city, and the annual Brighton Festival is a centrepiece of both. They contribute to our health and wellbeing, they attract millions of visitors and sustain incomes for thousands of locally, all helping to make our city such a vibrant and diverse place to live.

Unfortunately, there are some people in our city who feel shut out from the arts and cultural events and are unable to take full advantage of all Brighton and Hove has to offer. That’s why I’m so pleased the festival is offering various affordable tickets, and is working in partnership more and more across the city, from East Brighton to Portslade, and Moulsecoomb to Hangleton. The “Our Place” scheme also spreads music, theatre, dance and family entertainment across our city, allowing everyone to explore their creative side. This is the sort of inclusivity our council wants to encourage and foster and would like to see replicated across all events coming up.

Of course we host a whole range of outdoor events, and I look forward to watching the half marathon this weekend, and the Brighton Marathon in April, where Labour councillor Tracey Hill is running and raising money for Parkinsons UK.

At the last tourism, equalities, communities and culture committee meeting, councillors approved a range of positive approaches to various outdoor events and sites across the city that I wanted to share with you. It was decided that large outdoor events organisers would be subject to an environmental impact assessment and action plan to lessen the effects on our environment, when we are so focused on addressing the climate crisis. It also called for an end of sky litter which has a significant harm on wildlife and biodiversity.

Our new green events policy will consider how event organisers and attendees; conserve energy and water, encourage public transport, walking and cycling – including keeping bike lanes and other sustainable transport corridors open, look after open spaces and reinstate grassed areas, reduce and if possible, eliminate single use plastic and waste, recycle and reuse resources.With the festival, the marathon, Pride and the various music and other events we host, we are proud to be a city that is a cultural hub.