The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Sussex has prompted the county’s public and emergency services to declare a major incident.

Sussex Local Resilience Forum (Sussex LRF) is made up of multiple agencies who work together to plan and prepare for localised incidents and catastrophic emergencies.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Miller from Sussex Police, which chairs the SRF, said: “COVID-19 is an unprecedented public health emergency and we are all having to move at an incredibly fast pace.

“Our focus is on preventing death, protecting public health and minimising the impact of the coronavirus on our local communities and businesses, while maintaining delivery of effective local services.

…unprecedented public health emergency…

“As part of our regular review of the ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sussex LRF has now declared the coronavirus outbreak a major incident.

“This is simply a formality and will see us move to the next phase of well-rehearsed plans, ensuring partners are co-ordinating their response to the incident.

“Please be assured that local services across Sussex are working hard on your behalf to help you through what is a challenging time for everyone and our focus remains on ensuring we recover from this situation as soon as we can.

“It is absolutely vital therefore that everyone follows to the letter the Government advice on preventing the spread of Covid-19 and keeps looking out for our most vulnerable – that includes making sure our shops and supermarkets are well stocked for everyone.”

The SRF Strategic Coordinating Group is meeting twice weekly by teleconference to co-ordinate services across the county.

Nationally the Army has released planners to support Local Resilience Forums and this includes here in Sussex.

Sussex LRF is urging people to seek information from official sources or the local news media who will always work to ensure published information is verified by official sources.