Why are so many breaking the Covid rules in Hastings?

On Christmas Day, I watched as car after car arrived at a nearby home to spend a multi household Christmas. The same thing happened on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Over the holiday period I heard from someone who admitted to breaking the Christmas rules and someone else concerned that their neighbours were ignoring the rules. Yesterday I saw three people in a shop that was much too small for three. They were all in conversation and all without masks.

But perhaps the most shocking thing was that none of these things surprised me.

I’m married to an intensive care nurse. Her work is now more challenging and harrowing than ever. The NHS has never faced anything like this. It is already worse than the first wave and is being dealt with by teams of doctors and nurses decimated by staff sickness, physically and emotionally exhausted.

The Tier 4 rules and their latest amendments will have an impact because the vast majority of people will stick to them. But I wish that those still helping to spread the virus could spend hours with an ambulance crew trapped in a sealed box full of high viral load aerosols from a very sick Covid patient who can’t leave because there is no bed for them.

Or watch A&E staff desperately trying to triage and isolate Covid cases.

Or sit holding the hand of a frightened patient slowly drowning in their own lungs.

Or talk to a local family who have just lost one of their own after agonising weeks of not being able to visit or say goodbye.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.