AN MP has warned that a Sussex town is "teetering towards Tier 3 restrictions" as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise at an alarming rate.
Hastings and Rye Conservative MP Sally-Ann Hart urged her constituents to stick to the current Tier 2 rules in order to curb the rising tide of positive tests and avoid a third wave of the virus.
"If we ignore the rules cases will go up, our hospital will be overwhelmed and, ultimately, we will see the desperate scenes of families losing loved ones in the run up to Christmas," she said.
"If we follow the restrictions, we can avoid Tier 3 measures and protect our NHS, ultimately saving lives."
Her words come as the most recent figures show that the weekly coronavirus rate in Hastings has now reached 254.7 new cases per 100,000 people in the seven days leading up to December 6, with 236 people testing positive for the virus in the town during this period.
This is a huge increase on the figure of 68 new cases per 100,000 people recorded during the previous week.
- READ MORE: 'I'm worried...and you should be too' warns health chief as East Sussex cases climb
It also marks a significant rise from the figure issued yesterday - 199.7 cases per 100,000 people in the week leading up to December 5.
Mrs Hart said: "I am very concerned by the sharp and sustained rise in Covid-19 cases across Hastings and Rother.
"Having spoken to the local director of public health, there is now a real anxiety that we could see a prolonged period of high infection rates as seen in North Kent.
"If this is the case, then our area is now teetering towards Tier 3 restrictions in the coming weeks.
"I am urging all local residents to please follow the guidance and comply with the Covid-19 restrictions."
Mrs Hart told people they must "all take responsibility for the number of social contacts that we have" and take an "only if you must" approach to meeting others.
She said: "As a community we have worked so hard over the last ten months to ensure we have some of the lowest rates in the country, and we need to pull together once more to get the infection rates back down to their low levels.
"We beat the first wave. We’ve got through the second. Now let’s all pull together to avoid a third."
Two schools in Hastings have closed until the new year amid the alarming increase in the town's coronavirus rate.
St Leonards Church Of England Primary Academy and The Baird Primary Academy will be shut to all pupils except for the children of key workers until the spring term.
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