THE council has revealed how it plans to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in Brighton and Hove.

This comes just days after Leicester became the first city to be plunged into a local lockdown, with residents being placed under tighter restrictions.

Brighton and Hove City Council has set out the following aims in the event of a flare up in the infection rate:

  • Preventing and containing the transmission spread of Covid-19.
  • Ensuring a timely, effective and coordinated approach is taken in the event of an outbreak in Brighton & Hove
  • Instilling and maintaining trust and confidence by ensuring that residents, businesses and stakeholders are engaged and well informed throughout the outbreak to enable them to manage their organisational obligations and personal responsibilities.

It will achieve this by focusing its response on care homes, schools, vulnerable people and high risk communities.

The authority will seek to "identify methods for local testing" and set about contact tracing.

Councillor Claire Moonan, chairwoman of the council's health and wellbeing board, said the city is well-prepared to deal with a second wave or outbreak of Covid-19, but warned that the virus remains a danger.

She said: "Covid-19 has changed every aspect our lives, not just in Brighton and Hove but around the world. 

"Until a vaccine is found, we must all learn to live alongside Covid.

"We must take all necessary actions to keep the city Covid secure and we must also be ready to respond quickly if further outbreaks do happen.

"Covid-19 is still prevalent and it is still a dangerous highly infectious disease which can kill people."

She acknowledged "the risk of further outbreaks is still incredibly real" and said it was crucial that plans were in place to "protect our most vulnerable people and communities".

This is the purpose of the council's Local Outbreak Plan, which aims to outline a way in which the authority can work alongside health services and the Government to if the situation in Brighton and Hove worsens.

"Our communications in the event of an outbreak will be tailored for those who are affected, and our advice and guidance will be clear and timely," Cllr Moonan explained.

“A member-led Local Outbreak Engagement Board will provide senior level political oversight of the outbreak response and will lead on community engagement and communications with the city and affected people.

The board will monitor the effectiveness of working and education arrangements, intervention measures and communications in the city.

Cllr Moonan said: “Given the rapidly changing situation the Local Outbreak Plan will be a live document."

It will be formally reviewed every three months.

The plan acknowledged that "some areas of the city are amongst the most deprived in England" and "we also have more older people who are living alone and who are income deprived".

It also stated that one in five people in Brighton and Hove were from a BAME group, and "rough sleeping, is a significant need in the city".

As well as this, more than one in five people of the city's population of 290,855 have two or more existing physical or mental health conditions and " alcohol and drugs use are all significant issues for the city", the plan said.

It identified all of these groups as "those most at risk from Covid-19".