It's excellent news that this week sees the start of mass COVID vaccination in Folkestone at the Civic Centre, as well as at Lydd Airport on Romney Marsh. The Folkestone centre will be open seven days a week and operate eleven hours a day. It is expected that they will perform over 2000 vaccinations per […]
Our NHS is leading the world in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. We were the first country to use the Pfizer vaccine, and we now have regulatory approval for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, and the Moderna vaccine. We have vaccinated more people against coronavirus as a proportion of our population than any other country […]
This is not the Happy New Year we were hoping for. Before Christmas the daily data produced by the Government, showing the numbers of new cases of coronavirus in Kent, was starting to look more positive. In Folkestone and Hythe there had been a sustained fall in the rolling seven-day average of new cases, from […]
On Christmas Eve the Prime Minister announced that the Government had successfully negotiated a deal with the European Union on our future trading relationship. This will be debated in Parliament on 30th December, so that it can be ratified before the end of 2020. The deal delivers on the commitment made at the general election […]
Since the start of this month we've seen a rapidly deteriorating position with the regards to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. On the 1st of December the rolling seven-day average infection rate per 100,000 people in the Folkestone and Hythe district was 193, whereas three weeks later it is nearly 700. In other parts […]
This week the government has reviewed the tiers in England for the COVID-19 social contact restrictions. Not only is Kent staying within tier 3, but the whole of London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire have been included as well. I know that this will be disappointing for very many people who would have hoped […]
On Tuesday 8 December the NHS carried out the first vaccinations in the world from a clinically approved COVID-19 vaccine. This is a fantastic achievement, and it is incredible to think that this vaccine has been developed, tested and now delivered, in ten months. I was pleased to see that East Kent is benefiting from […]
This week sees the end of the national covid lockdown and all parts of the country will experience positive changes to community life. High Street shops will be able to re-open including hairdressers and nail salons. Churches and other places of worship will open their doors once more. Outdoor activities like golf will be able […]
On Monday this week I was in the chamber of the House of Commons to hear the Prime Minister announce that the national COVID lockdown will end on 2 December to be replaced with a tiered system. This is obviously very good news, and this easing of the restrictions is a result of the success […]
As we approach the longer nights of a year that has been blighted by the coronavirus pandemic, it seems that we might at last be able to glimpse light in the distance. Two companies, Pfizer and Moderna have now announced that they have covid vaccines that have an effectiveness of over 90% and which could be available as early […]