Suffolk becomes 'Enhanced Response Area' following rising Covid cases
Additional support from the Government will be available for at least five weeks.
Suffolk has been made an 'Enhanced Response Area' following a plea from health bosses for national support following a rise in Covid cases in the county.
The move means that additional support will be available from Government for at least the next five weeks, including resources for increased testing and awareness campaigns.
Public Health Suffolk made a request for national support last week.
From today things a range of additional resources will be available including:
- Support for the vaccination efforts by extending opening hours and creating pop up vaccination clinics within communities
- Help to coordinate on the ground door knocking campaigns
- Help to reduce transmission in schools with increased testing and additional temporary powers
- Funding for Covid-19 awareness raising communications and advertising
Cllr Matthew Hicks, chair Suffolk’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board and leader of Suffolk County Council, said: “I very much welcome this additional help and funding from the Government. It will support our already considerable efforts to get more people vaccinated and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Suffolk.
“Throughout the pandemic, Suffolk has been effective at keeping our COVID rates low compared to other parts of the country. This is because we have worked hard and been proactive at every stage.
“The situation facing Suffolk now calls for the same forward-thinking and preventative work to protect residents, businesses and our way of life.
“As we learn to live with COVID-19, it will be actions such as this that prevent COVID from having an even worse impact and, ultimately, holding back our recovery.”
Stuart Keeble, Suffolk’s director of public health, said: “Every day since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Suffolk and taking action to protect people and save lives.
“That work hasn’t stopped, even when rates of infection slowed during the summer.
“We have a new challenge now – high infection rates and continuing hospitalisations at exactly the same time that NHS is trying to catch up on delayed treatments for millions of people.
“That is why, after assessing all the data and options available to us, we have made this bid for extra help from central Government. We want to get ahead and stop COVID before our NHS reaches the point of no return.”
This approach has already been used in other parts of the country to reduce the rate of Covid transmission - with action currently also being taken in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Residents in Suffolk are now being encouraged to:
- Get fully vaccinated and your booster when it's due
- Wash you hands regularly with soap and water
- Always wear a face covering in crowded areas
- Ventilate indoor spaces
- Get tested regularly and stay at home if you feel unwell
Additional support does not mean additional restrictions on people's movements or actions.
It is not a lockdown or like the tiering system that was trialled in England in 2020.
The aim is to boost the county's ability to raise awareness, tackle outbreaks, and encourage people to get vaccinated.