10 hours ago
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Phil Harrison,Canterburyand Craig Buchan,South East
Keir Mackenzie/BBC
The outbreak is believed to have originated in a Canterbury nightclub
It's a sunny afternoon on Canterbury High Street, but something is not right.
It's not like Covid, says Jeb Hughes, a fruit seller. But there are fewer people in town - it is "noticeably quieter".
The picturesque medieval city of 160,000 near England's south-eastern tip is a popular spot for day-trippers and a bustling student hub.
Two young adults have died and 32 others are in hospital. Experts cannot yet say why it spread so rapidly.
And while authorities have not introduced any social distancing measures - like those which were mandated across the country during the Covid pandemic - some people are taking precautions anyway, out of an abundance of caution.
Phil Harrison/BBC
Fruit seller Jeb Hughes says there "hasn't been many youngsters in town" since a meningitis B outbreak began
Hughes says he has not seen many young people around town, and those that he has are wearing face masks.
"Usually Canterbury gets quite vibrant and busy with the sunshine, the students are out, the college kids come down," he says. "But sometimes health is more important than business."
Daow Coombes owns a food truck which usually dishes out 200 hot Thai meals to students every day. She says she sold just 10 from her pitch at the University of Kent campus on Thursday.
"The students get their injections and then hide in their bedrooms," Coombes says. "It's been the quietest week since Covid."
PA Media
University students in Canterbury have queued for hours to access meningitis vaccines
Eighteen-year-old sixth former Juliette Kenny from nearby Faversham is one of those who have died after contracting the infection. The other is a 21-year-old University of Kent student who has not been named.
The outbreak is believed to have originated at the Club Chemistry nightclub, which regularly attracts students from the city's universities.
In response, public health officials have made vaccinations and preventative antibiotics available to thousands of students, staff, club attendees and close contacts of cases. Pop-up vaccine clinics have seen queues snaking around buildings.
Some 10,000 people have been contacted as possible close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases, but it is too early to say if the outbreak has peaked.
On Thursday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting was adamant the risk to the wider population was "extremely low" and it was "absolutely fine for people to go about living their lives in a normal way".
He said there was no reason for him to be the "fun police" by telling students they should not go out.
But this has not stopped people from changing their behaviour.
On a cobbled street lined by timber-framed buildings in Canterbury, barista Ivan Galt estimates his takings are 40% down since news of the outbreak.
In an echo of the pandemic, the worker at Burgate Coffee House says he thinks people are scared of being indoors. "Business is definitely suffering because of it."
A bed and breakfast owner who runs the House of Agnes in St Dunstans Street tells the BBC it has lost about a third of its weekly revenue after last-minute cancellations.
At Carmine Cioffi's Italian restaurant in the city centre a large booking has just been cancelled. "We try to do everything possible to try bring people in, but there is not much people about," he says. "We do our best."
But not everyone has noticed a dip in customers.
Standing beside a row of tethered punts on the River Stour, boatman James Matharu says while he has heard about other businesses getting cancellations, things are "still pretty busy here".
"Not many customers have actually mentioned it and they still seem happy enough to get on the boat."
Phil Harrison/BBC
Boatman James Matharu said "not many customers" had mentioned meningitis
Many events have been cancelled on what was expected to be busy spring weekend - among them local rugby matches and a park run. But others are going ahead as planned.
Canterbury's four-day arts festival Step into Spring is going ahead - but have put in some additional measures.
The cafe at the festival venue will be closed while a lecture hall at Canterbury Christ Church University which is due to host top writers including Prue Leith and Mark Haddon will be capped at 50% capacity.
The festival website says audiences and staff "may prefer to wear masks".
Elsewhere, the installation of Dame Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, will be going ahead at Canterbury Cathedral.
She is currently carrying out a six-day pilgrimage from St Paul's Cathedral in London to the cathedral - and is expected to arrive on Sunday.
She will be enthroned on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by the Prince of Wales.
So far, no changes have been made to the programme.
