COVID-19

The rollout of the COVID-19 spring vaccination campaign to protect some of the most vulnerable people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has started this week.  Care home residents are being offered the vaccination from this week, with the...

COVID-19 admissions to St Mary's Hospital are increasing — but none are the new variant that has hit the headlines. It comes after a warning from senior health officials the Island could see a greater level of COVID-19 cases this...

The COVID-19 contact tracing app which was trialled on the Isle of Wight during the pandemic, which led to Matt Hancock saying "Where the Isle of Wight leads, Britain follows", has been shut down. In May 2020, the initial version...

An emergency response group set up by the Isle of Wight Council at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been disbanded. The Local Outbreak Engagement Board (LOEB) was set up in 2020 to be the public face of the...

The COVID-19 Spring vaccination programme is underway with St Mary’s Hospital Vaccination Hub offering the Spring vaccine to those Islanders who are eligible. Over 235,000 people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are eligible for a COVID-19 spring vaccine,...

3 years ago today (Thursday), the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, broadcast live to the nation from Downing Street and announced the country was going into lockdown. Now, 36 months to the day since that chilling announcement, Island Echo takes a...

More than 100 eateries and restaurants across the Island are currently awaiting food hygiene inspections, with the Isle of Wight Council admitting that inspections haven't taken place at their usual rate as a result of a COVID-19 backlog. During the...

People across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are being urged to get their COVID-19 booster ahead of Christmas, with the Riverside Centre set to stop vaccinations from this Saturday. Solent NHS Trust continues to run a number of walk-in...

Arts for wellbeing charity Independent Arts is hoping to help more long COVID sufferers with a new 12-week programme of a singing therapy with a proven track record of helping people with breathing difficulties. The charity has been running 'Singing...

COVID grants totalling more than £1.7million have been paid out to hundreds of Island businesses — and further help is on the way. More than 500 local businesses have received support from the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF), a business relief...