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Everyone’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year has been different, but there’s no doubt that it has been a difficult time for us all. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, so it’s a good time to remember that taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body, especially during this difficult time.

Coronavirus case numbers in Devon have risen slightly again this week. That’s to be expected though, because of the increase in regular testing of people without symptoms identifying cases that otherwise would have gone undetected. These cases are picked up through routine rapid, lateral flow device (LFD) testing, either at our assisted mobile testing sites, or by people self-testing at home

With a long bank holiday weekend ahead of us, we are urging everyone to stay safe and continue to follow the COVID-19 restrictions while enjoying more of the freedoms we have missed during lockdown. Everyone in Devon over the age of 16 years old can now get free rapid lateral flow device (LFD) COVID-19 tests, and should be using them twice a week. COVID-19 vaccination programme in Devon enters next phase with 40 year olds able to book now.

Positive cases of coronavirus in Devon have levelled off, following a period of decline. “Now is another critical time, if we’re to avoid an upturn in cases again,” said Steve Brown, Director for Public Health Devon. Until recently case numbers in Devon had been falling, but the data for the latest available week show rates are stabilising. 

This week we’ve been able to do a little bit more as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease in line with the government’s roadmap. Residents across Devon have been visiting local high streets, getting back to the gym, enjoying beer gardens and sorting out lockdown locks with long awaited haircuts. However, many restrictions remain in place, and are underpinned by law, so don’t get carried away just yet.

Every adult in Devon is now being encouraged to take a quick COVID-19 test twice a week to help stop the virus spreading. These type of tests, known as rapid lateral flow device (LFD) tests, are for people who don’t show any symptoms of having coronavirus. One in three people with coronavirus do not experience any symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly. Rapid testing detects cases quickly, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately. They are easy, quick and convenient, and the results are usually available to you within the hour.

Just days ahead of a long Easter weekend, this easing seems a natural opportunity for people to get together outdoors. We all no doubt want to catch up with others this weekend, and the relaxation of restrictions now allows up to six people, or two households of any size, to meet up outside – in the garden for example – while adhering to social distancing and good hand hygiene. But please let’s be cautious, otherwise we place ourselves, our families and friends at risk.

In just a few days, if the current national data supports it, England will see the latest easing of COVID-19 restrictions. This week Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said that we are all going to have to learn to live safely with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future, and that a key part of that is for us to keep the infection rates as low as possible. He also urged people who are not showing symptoms of coronavirus and are in contact with others, especially families or households with school or college age students, to take up regular testing.

On this day last year, when national lockdown restrictions were introduced and we were all told to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives, none of us expected that 12 months later we would still be living with coronavirus. We have learned a lot about ourselves this year, and a lot of good things have come from the changes we have had to make in our lives. If 2020 was a year we’d rather scratch from the calendar, then this year let’s try to keep hold of the many good things that we’ve learned, about our ability to adapt and to look out for each other, our families, neighbours and friends.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon responded to questions this week following outbreaks of coronavirus in two East Devon care homes. Asked whether outbreaks like these can happen again, he said: “We are going to continue to get small outbreaks in settings such as care homes, workplaces and schools. But whenever we get an outbreak, the response is quick and swift.