Cornwall Councillor for Falmouth Penwerris Jayne Kirkham has said that a vaccination centre needs to be considered in the town following a spike in cases.

At the moment the closest vaccination sites are Stithians Showground (drive-in) and Truro, Reeds Pharmacy (walk-in).

Speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall this afternoon, Jayne said a centre in Falmouth would make life easier for those without transport, and encourage more people to get the jab.

Speaking to Jack Murley, Councillor Kirkham said:

"I'm not a public health expert but the numbers do seem quite telling don't they, we do have a spike, we have seen an obvious spike in Falmouth, St Ives, and in Newquay.

"It is about how we deal with it now because some of the children from Falmouth School have been sent home again, as well as Penryn College.

"I have just been up to have my second jab at Stithians and it was lovely to see the numbers of young people who were queuing up to have their jab, which is brilliant.

"I think what we need to do, considering the size of Falmouth and Penryn, is make it as easy as possible for those that don't have transport and consider some sort of vaccination centre in Falmouth itself.

"I think that would really help because it would mean all those people that struggle to get to Stithians, would be able to walk into Falmouth and it might encourage more people to pick up the jab."

As well as considering a vaccination centre in Falmouth, Jayne also urged support from the government for local businesses.

In Falmouth, the tally of businesses closing in recent days is around 20, and more tests and facilities are needed to prevent a further spike.

Jayne continued:

"To stop this spike and get over it, the quickest way is to get people vaccinated, so the quicker we do that, the quicker we can get on and hopefully have some sort of summer season.

"We could do with some more help so that businesses are able to test those that work there. That way we will be able to get a better picture of this going forward."

Speaking shortly after Jayne Kirkham on BBC Radio Cornwall was Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay.

Taking information from professionals, Mr Double said they had told him "there was very little evidence" that the G7 has played its part in the increase.

Half term and students returning from holidays are more likely to have contributed, he said.

He also wasn't willing to speculate over the reasons for the increase in cases.

Councillor Kirkham believes it is a "mixture of everything", adding:

"The 17th May we saw hospitality businesses reopen indoors, the Delta variant is much more infectious so people can be spreading it before they even know they have got it.

"On top of that we had half term, G7 workers down here weeks before the summit even started to set up. It is probably coming from all sorts of sources, but it is interesting that all the places with spikes are where the G7 was.

"I do think the best thing we could be doing now is testing and vaccinating as many people as we can and hoping we can get on top of it that way."

Click here to see more news and information from Jayne Kirkham.

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