(a)

on 5 January 2021, the third national lockdown had been implemented in response to the rapidly increasing new Covid cases across England;

(b)

Plymouth’s current Covid rate was 303 per 100,000 per population which had seen a significant increase over the last week; this was expected during the early part of the lockdown period with rates reducing  over time; Plymouth’s figures compared well to the South West (398) and England (640);  however there was still a significant problem in the city;

(c)

whilst it was really heartening to see the vaccination programme underway, there were still concerns with the significant number of people who were very poorly, those having to self-isolate and the impact this was having on the city, the hospital and care homes;

(d)

thanked the residents of Plymouth for getting tested when they had developed the symptoms of the virus and interacting with the national NHS track and trace system; the Council was following up some contacts that required extra support or had not been contacted by NHS track and trace; the engagement rate in the city was high compared to other areas;

(e)

access to the lateral flow tests would be broaden which was important in helping to reduce the number of cases; the virus was highly infectious and could be spread before any symptoms developed; the down side of these tests was that if the test was positive it probably meant that an individual had Covid, however if it was negative it did not mean that the individual did not have Covid and should continue to adhere to the restrictions in place;

(f)

the Government had announced it would be rolling out the lateral flow tests across England; however in the first instance these tests would be prioritised to those areas in the city with the most Covid cases;

(g)

the third national lockdown was very different to the November 2020 lockdown; residents were urged to only go out if absolutely necessary, or if they had to go to work, not to go to other places, in order to help reduce the Covid cases in the city; enforcement action would be taken where the law was being broken; if people had any enforcement concerns they could email covid19@plymouth.gov.uk;

(h)

the roll out of the vaccination programme was being managed by NHS England and it was understood that more information would be available shortly regarding when people would receive their appointments, etc; there would be plenty of opportunity for individuals to be vaccinated in the city and not have to travel outside; vaccination sites were being run by the hospital, primary care networks and other sites would be confirmed; the roll out of the vaccination in Plymouth had been good and figures on the numbers of people who had received the vaccine were awaited;

(i)

there was great concern regarding the new Covid variant, as it was highly infectious; the current understanding was that the measures in place to protect people remained the same as normal Covid but people were asked to be vigilant and stay at home and keep physical distance;

(j)

this would be a difficult few weeks but hopefully the Covid rate would reduce due to the lockdown and there would be protection for the most vulnerable with the roll out of the vaccinations; the city had come together to tackle Covid and residents were thanked for the sacrifices they had made and were asked to continue to do so for a bit longer.