The good news is that the group of four infections which Histon & Impington recorded a week ago has now slipped out of the calculation of our infection rate. It now stands at 3 and in terms of the infection per 100,000 inhabitants it’s now at about the same level as South Cambs in total.

The bad news is that the infection rate in Cambridge has gone up quite a bit and this even merited an item on Anglia News the other night. The Director of Public Health explained it in terms of increased social contact and if you’ve been into the City recently you can understand what she means. With the fine weather and the opportunity to visit ‘non-essential’ shops people have turned out in numbers and this has had an impact.

We can’t affect what others do of course but we can do our best to ensure that our community is protected. That means being wary about going into Cambridge and consciously avoiding busy shops and the like and observing the basic rules wherever we are: hands, face and space!

Local behaviour is largely very good and it’s a pleasure to be able to enjoy our local pubs and non-essential shops again. Our pubs are doing a great job in serving us outside, even though it’s still a little on the cold side, and we thank them for it. We note that although the King Bill is not yet open it’s nonetheless supporting several food stalls during the week and that the Urban Shed is gearing itself to reopen as the Histon Smokehouse in May.

It’s worth reminding ourselves, and repeating what we’ve said before:

• Follow the house rules. Pubs etc must confirm to strict Covid guidelines and that’s why they impose rules about what we must do in order to enjoy their hospitality. Don’t question their rules, just enjoy the beer.
• Don’t flaunt your jabs. Just because you’ve had one or both vaccinations doesn’t guarantee that you’re immune. You must continue to follow the basic rules: you may still catch Covid (albeit less seriously) and you may still be a transmission risk.
• Be tolerant, and mindful, of others. Relaxing the rules is not compulsory and some may choose not to. Respect them. Continue to observe hands, face and space and give others confidence that you understand how they might feel.

There’s been much reporting of the impact of lock down on people’s mental well-being. This may become apparent over the next weeks so please let’s all be mindful of our neighbours and colleagues, friends and family. We’ve said it before: if you sense someone’s a bit down, feeling glum or unnecessarily anxious give them a chance to talk about it. If you’re unsure about how you might do that maybe refer them to the Worry Tree Café at www.hifriends.org.uk.

If anyone does need any help for any reason they should contact their street co-ordinator or call the HICOVID19 helpline on 01223 320420.

Click here for a pdf of this digest.