Public Health England director on the road out of lockdown

THERE is no doubt it’s been a long, hard winter for everyone across the south east.

But this week we can finally start to feel cautiously optimistic about the coming months.

As the Prime Minister laid out the steps in his roadmap last Monday, we will all have heard it slightly differently.

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For many, there would have been anticipation as they started counting the days until they could see and hold their loved ones again.

For others, who may have been juggling childcare with working from home, or just worried about the mental health of their children, there will have been relief at the news of schools reopening.

Public Health England South East director Trish Mannes. Picture: PHE

Trish Mannes. Picture: PHE

Of course, for others again there will be anxiety, doubts and worries – whether because they work in an industry that won’t be re-opening just yet or because they fear what easing lockdown will mean for Covid-19 rates.

All of these feelings are completely natural and unsurprising.

But however you feel, it is important to remember that what the Prime Minister has outlined is a careful, incremental approach to opening up different parts of society.

Rates across the country are still relatively high and things will only be eased as the rates come down, numbers of people vaccinated increase, the number of new variants is low and we are sure that the vaccines offer protection against hospitalisation and death.

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It is also worth remembering how we have reached this stage.

In partnership with local authority public health teams and directors of public health, NHS Test and Trace are massively scaling up testing to help us all get back to some normality.

Hundreds of thousands are being vaccinated every day and we cannot thank our colleagues in both public health and the NHS enough for the dedication and commitment they have shown to keeping us all safe in our communities.

Bonn Square, Oxford, on Friday, February 26, 2021, during the third coronavirus lockdown. Picture: Pete Hughes

Bonn Square, Oxford, on Friday. Picture: Pete Hughes

It’s excellent news that last week we were also able to publish our first real-world UK data showing Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provides high levels of protection from the first dose.

Schools, too, have worked incredibly hard right through lockdown to make sure all students have been able to keep studying.

For those who are anxious about their children returning to the classroom, PHE’s chief nurse and director of maternity and early years, Viv Bennett, has said that ‘staff, parents and pupils can feel reassured by scientific evidence that shows transmission in schools is low and that children are not drivers of infection in schools or the wider community’.

You should, of course, also be proud of your own efforts because we know that lockdown works.

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Transmission rates have fallen significantly and this in turn has eased the pressure on the NHS.

This has only been possible thanks to the sacrifices you have made by staying at home.

But this virus is far from beaten and even as we can start to look forward to better times, we still have to keep doing the simple things that save lives.

Cover your face, wash your hands and make space will all be with us for some time.

George Street, Oxford, on Friday, February 26, 2021, during the third coronavirus lockdown. Picture: Pete Hughes

George Street, Oxford, on Friday. Picture: Pete Hughes

For now, you should continue to stay at home as much as possible.

When you are offered a vaccination, take it.

Gradually we can re-open the country but we can only do that through small, cautious steps.

We know how quickly infections and deaths can rise when we let our guards down and the future will be informed by ‘data, not dates’.

Let’s pull together, and we can look forward to a brighter summer.