The Director of Public Health for Devon, Steve Brown, has urged the public to be cautious after the easing of more lockdown restrictions.

He said: "I'm not going to tell people that they mustn't hug, but I will resist and my advice to others is to also exercise caution.

"While coronavirus is still present in our communities, and people are still at risk of catching it and spreading it, the common sense approach is the cautious approach.

"One in three people who have the virus don't show any symptoms of having it. Unless detected, they will unknowingly spread it to others."

The Indian variant

He also highlighted that the vaccines do not offer guaranteed protection from the virus, and that the Indian variant could prove to be a cause for concern.

Steve continued: "Although not an issue right now in Devon, we are learning more about the latest strain of the virus, the Indian strain of concern, that we hear reported as being 50% better at transmission between people.

"This pandemic has often felt like a roller coaster, and right now we are I fear at a point where a lot of the good practice – the adhering to the common sense rules, which include social distancing, wearing of face coverings, and regular washing of our hands – could be undone if we allow ourselves to take our eye off the ball.

"The consequence of that is that numbers of people with coronavirus in Devon will rise again.

"Coronavirus is not beaten yet. The government is already alluding to the possibility that the next easing of restrictions in June may be delayed if the data does not support it.

"We need to play the long game if we are to beat this. And that means taking small and cautious steps as the restrictions ease."

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