'I think people understand the need to take precautions with new variant'
New advice to 'work from home where possible' comes into force today, but it's expected - overall - there'll be a smaller noticeable change In Torbay because of the numbers working in hospitality
Torbay's Public Health Director Lincoln Sargeant says he expects residents to follow today's latest Coronavirus rules - saying most people have been doing so throughout the pandemic - but the numbers working from home will be lower than other places.
Today a new 'work from home where possible' order comes into force, but Mr Sergeant says Torbay has a high proportion of workers in the hospitality sector - so many will still need to head into workplaces.
Last night the Prime Minister's warned of a "tidal wave" of Omicron cases on the horizon - after announcing a major upscaling of the booster programme.
All adults in England will be offered a jab by the end of the year - and support will be given to the devolved administrations.
But to make it possible, some routine appointments will be postponed.
Public Health Director Lincoln Sergeant said ahead of changes coming into force this morning: "A high proportion of workers in the bay are in hospitality and in other face-to-face occupations where a work from home order would not be feasible for them, so we have to understand that different sectors will be affected in different ways.
"Generally speaking the people in Torbay have been very good at following advice and we have tried as much as possible to help explain why certain measures are necessary.
"I think people will understand the need to take precautions at a time when we're dealing with a new variant and we're not entirely sure the impacts that it will have."
Click here for the latest coronavrius advice from Torbay Council
Over the weekend the first cases of omicron were confirmed in Plymouth.
Health officials say there are now 873 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in Plymouth compared to the England average of 500 cases.
Only a small handful of people are said to have the new variant and they along with their close contacts are now self isolating.
Ruth Harrell, Director of Public Health for Plymouth, said that while the arrival of the new variant in the city was not unexpected, it was a concern given the already high Covid-19 rates.
She said: “Covid rates in Plymouth are much higher than the England average and the arrival of a variant that we know spreads even more easily means we all need to redouble our efforts to minimise risks to ourselves and others.
“It is likely that there are others in the city who also have the Omicron variant and we all need to behave as if it is already within our communities."
For the latest coronavrius advice for Plymouth click here
For the latest official Government coronavirus information click here