News in Felixstowe

Felixstowe GPs have urged people to make sure they still get any health fears checked out by their doctor during the coronavirus lockdown, amid fears that symptoms for serious conditions could be missed.

The Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group, which oversees primary care in the Felixstowe area, admitted that referrals from GPs to hospitals for things such as cancer treatments had "dropped quite significantly".

The owners of The Sandwich Shop in Felixstowe are embracing Easter by donating eggs, free range and chocolate, to charitable causes.

Neville Stein, who owns the shop with his son Will Stein and business colleague Tom Couchman, said: "We made the call to close the sandwich shop during the lock down as we felt this was the best policy to protect our customers and staff.

A resilience forum of public bodies set up to bind everyone together to deal the Coronavirus crisis has sent an open letter to all Felixstowe residents telling them that this weekend is a public emergency, not a public holiday.

The message from Suffolk's NHS, Emergency and Public Services, who are working together to protect the county and frontline health workers, came the same day as a letter from prime minister Boris Johnson landed on the doormats of many Felixstowe, Trimley and Walton residents.

A fish bar owner has had to backtrack on his decision to open for business tomorrow.

Mehmet Kocabey, who runs the Felix Fish Bar and Grill in Wadgate Road, on Grange Farm, posted on social media he was re-opening tomorrow, Thursday, at 12pm.

Leading housebuilder Persimmon Homes Suffolk has launched a £1million charity giveaway to support young people across Britain.

The Building Futures scheme aims to support community groups working with under-18s across three categories – education & arts, health and sport, including those in Felixstowe, Walton and Trimley.

Ipswich Hospital has confirmed two more people have died there after being admitted with the coronavirus.

Another two cases at the hospital, which serves the Felixstowe peninsula, were confirmed dead on Sunday, which takes the total tally over a four-week period to 19 in Ipswich alone, but the death tally could be higher in the wider community.

Although the fund-raising shop in Trimley remains closed due to the Covid-19 lock down, the work being done by the Bus Shelter project continues, with a different focus for now.

Instead of dealing with rough sleepers, the staff and volunteers have been putting together food parcels for the needy and vulnerable on the Felixstowe peninsula and beyond, and the demand has been huge.

A Felixstowe councillor has hailed an East Suffolk Council-led project, which is helping speed up the discharge of vulnerable patients from hospitals at a time when the health care services are under increased pressure.

Richard Kerry, who represents the Trimley ward, praised the Stepping Home project, which supports those who are identified as having a housing or social need that could prevent them from being discharged and ensures they are able to return home or find safe temporary accommodation.

Eligible businesses in Felixstowe are being urged to access grants of £10,000 or £25,000 to help them through COVID-19 crisis.

The Government has allocated over £213m to support qualifying businesses in Suffolk who are struggling because of restrictions in place to combat the Coronavirus.

It is an almost eerie sight to see Felixstowe bathed in sunshine, yet fewer day-trippers on the beaches, promenade, pier or town centre, at what is effectively the start of the holiday season.

And those that are here are not welcome for the moment, not until this lock down is over, then it should be business as usual with lots to look forward too.