“The hardest decision in my career was putting Essex in the highest tier of restrictions.”

That is the verdict of Essex’s public health chief.

Mike Gogarty took on the role as Essex County Council’s Director for Public Health in 2013, after spending ten years in as director of public health for the Tendring district.

Having been one of the leading voices in the battle against Covid, Dr Gogarty spent his last day in the office this week after announcing his retirement.

Dr Gogarty started his career with the NHS as a GP in Clacton and devoted 30 years of his life to senior positions in the health sector.

Reminiscing about his career and the past two extraordinarily-challenging years, Dr Gogarty says plunging the county into the most severe tier of restrictions was the right call to make in October 2020. But it was not an easy one to take.

He said: “It was hard, but an obvious thing that had to be done.

“The rates were going up so quickly as there were no vaccines available and people were getting ill.

“It was the right decision at the time.

“Unfortunately the whole country went into lockdown again for which there was no evidence it was going to happen.”

Looking back in time, Dr Gogarty says fighting the pandemic has definitely been one of the most challenging periods in his career.

He said: “The disease has impacted badly on everybody, whether as a direct result of Covid or because of the measures to minimise it.

“It has been one of the defining points of my career. It has been very difficult, as there has been an appalling loss of life.”

But Dr Gogarty is feeling hopeful about the future of Essex and the pandemic.

According to him, the infection rate remains steady, especially when it comes to the elderly and those classed as vulnerable.

What we could see, however, is an increase in the number of cases as we get closer to the summer.

He said: “I don’t think Covid is going away, not for a second. But people need to have boosters now and we need to see if any other variants emerges as winter goes.

“People who have had boosters first might see a reduction in their immunity.

“The Omicron variant is extremely infectious, so if anyone’s immunity starts dropping, it is likely they can get infected quite quickly.”

Despite all that, Dr Gogarty says boosters remain “essential” and play a vital role in minimising the spread of the virus.

He said: “We are using one vaccine designed for the original Wuhan variant.

“I think we will get better vaccines - like the flu jabs - which can tackle several different forms of Covid in one go.

“We are also getting more effective preventative treatments.

“There is no question we will overcome the Covid pandemic and things won’t be as bad as last year.”

According to the health boss, the easing of restrictions will obviously bring more cases but, he said, “it is important to start thinking about a normal life again and live with Covid”.

He added: “There are concerns, but we should get back to normal as much as we can.”

Now Dr Gogarty is stepping down as a Director of Public Hhealth for Essex, he is preparing to embark on a new stage of his life.

However, he will not be leaving the health service behind. That would be a step too far for the dedicated clinician.

Instead, Dr Gogarty is taking on a non-executive role at the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

He is also eager to explore a long-time passion of his.

He said: “I used to love music and I would love to get into that and try to write and play more.

“I am also looking forward to the next stage of my life with my family.”

They will be pleased to have more of him, but Essex certainly owes Dr Gogarty and enduring debt of gratitude.