Storm Darcy: Covid vaccination centres close due to snow

A number of Covid-19 vaccination centres in the east of England have closed because of heavy snow.

An amber warning is in place across much of the east and south-east of England, and eight centres were affected in Essex and Suffolk.

They included Clacton Hospital, where those with appointments at the centre on Sunday can rebook from Monday.

Two sites in Ipswich closed, and a number of testing centres in Suffolk also shut.

As well as their hospital site Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust also had earlier finishes at its sites at the Gainsborough Sports Centre in Ipswich and at Colchester's Jobserve Community Stadium.

Five vaccination centres run by Suffolk GP Federation also had earlier closing times.

The sites at Trinity Park in Ipswich, Woodbridge Community Hall, Debenham Community Centre and The Mix in Stowmarket closed at midday, while the EpiCentre in Haverhill will shut at 16:00 GMT.

Julie Smith, from the federation, said: "We've had a bit of an assessment of the situation out there with the roads and the sites themselves and unfortunately we think we need, for patient safety reasons, to close early."

She added people could rebook using their booking references, but if they do not, then the federation would reschedule them.

A spokesman for the federation said they texted and phoned people to tell them appointments would be rearranged, but added "unfortunately, it wasn't possible to contact everyone in advance because the decision to close four of our vaccination centres at noon was taken at short notice due to rapidly deteriorating conditions".

He added they "proactively" went to the media, and updated their website and social media.

Suffolk Resilience Forum said all of the county's testing sites for those with symptoms of Covid-19 are currently closed, adding "the situation will be reviewed daily".

Testing centres in Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and the University of Suffolk in Ipswich for people not displaying symptoms have also been closed.

The amber warning - which also means disruption to gas, telephone or mobile phone coverage is likely - covers parts of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent and Medway and lasts until 12:00 GMT on Monday.

Meanwhile, Public Health England (PHE) has issued a cold weather alert for the whole nation through to Wednesday evening.

Dr Owen Landeg, from PHE, said it was "crucial" people looked out for those who may be vulnerable, calling on the public to make sure those at-risk have enough food and drink to stay warm and well.

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