Coronavirus: Animation shows how cases in Sussex have changed since lockdown

As Boris Johnson’s government announces stricter social distancing measures from Monday (September 14), and local lockdowns across the country, it is easy to feel a sense of déjà vu.
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But are cases of coronavirus in Sussex spiralling out of control as they did before the national lockdown at the end of March?

The latest figures from Public Health England, illustrated in the animation below, show the answer is no.

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The figures show that in the week after lockdown was announced on March 23, cases in Sussex rose from 194 to 536 – a rise of 276 per cent in a week.

Coronavirus cases since lockdown SUS-200909-162406001Coronavirus cases since lockdown SUS-200909-162406001
Coronavirus cases since lockdown SUS-200909-162406001

Those new cases will have come from the weeks before lockdown, when we were far less vigilant and still adjusting to concepts such as social distancing.

The idea of wearing a mask was a fairytale and hand sanitiser had become a precious commodity.

From there, cases continued to rise exponentially, with the UK passing the peak of infections, according to Oxford University, on April 21.

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Contrast those figures with the last week’s. Up to September 1, there were a total of 6,527 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Sussex. By September 8, there were 6,696 – an increase of around two per cent.

The rate of increase is rising, that much is undeniable, but it is a far cry from the soaring figures seen six months ago.

In theory, we as a society are surely now better equipped to stop cases getting out of hand but, with the threat of tighter social restrictions on the horizon, only time will tell.