Harrogate district covid rate falls below England average

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen below the national average for the first time since October.

The weekly average for the district now stands at 245 infections per 100,000 people, compared with 263 for England.

The rate has fallen from a record high of 307 last week, which was the second highest rate in North Yorkshire.

It’s the first time the rate has been below the national average since October 25.

But Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, warned that some figures could have been affected by recent changes in how cases are recorded.

Public Health England now reports cases based on where the test was carried out, instead of where a person is registered with the NHS.

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The change has seen Harrogate’s total cases drop by 201.

It comes as a further 59 positive tests were confirmed in the district in the last 24 hours, according to Public Health England.

The number takes the total amount of cases since the start of the pandemic to 3,313.

Meanwhile, Dr Sargeant told a North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board meeting today the lowest level of restrictions could be “somewhat stronger” after lockdown.

The country is set to exit the second shutdown on December 2, but ministers have yet to decide what the tier system will look like in two weeks time.

Dr Sargeant said previously that the first tier, which North Yorkshire was under before lockdown, “did not work” and “had no teeth”.

He added that officials at the council expected an announcement on the new restrictions at the end of next week.

Simon Weaver tests positive

Elsewhere, Simon Weaver, Harrogate Town manager, is expected to miss his team’s trip to Leyton Orient this weekend after testing positive for coronavirus.

He tested positive earlier this week after going into precautionary self-isolation before the Crawley Town game on November 14.

Paul Thirwell, assistant manager, will take charge this weekend while Weaver continues to isolate.

Harrogate is the cannabis hotspot of North Yorkshire

Police have raided more cannabis farms in the Harrogate district in the last three years than any other area of North Yorkshire.

A Freedom of Information request by the Stray Ferret to North Yorkshire Police revealed that 25 or more cannabis plants had been seized on 13 occasions in the district since 2017.

The district has also seen the most police activity this year, with 11 cannabis raids compared with just four in all the other districts combined.

In total, police have raided 43 cannabis farms across the county since January 2017.

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Officers also made 22 arrests relating to cannabis farms, though the figure includes people who may have been arrested for more than one offence.

North Yorkshire Police have been approached for comment, but did not respond by time of publication.

Figures on the number of cannabis farms seized across North Yorkshire. Data: North Yorkshire Police.

Figures on the number of cannabis farms seized across North Yorkshire broken down by Safer Neighbourhood Command. Data: North Yorkshire Police.

‘Sophisticated’ cannabis farms

Police were called to a cannabis farm in the district just two months ago.

In September, officers launched an investigation after a large cannabis farm was found in a former Ripon nightclub.

Officers were called to the former Matrix nightclub on Kirkgage when two people were reportedly seen running away away after being disturbed during a routine building check.

Despite an extensive search, including the use of a police drone, the two people were not found but a search of the building found a “large scale, sophisticated” cannabis farm.

£60 million A59 Kex Gill reroute could start in summer

A £60 million project to reroute part of the A59 Harrogate to Skipton road is scheduled to start next summer, if government funding and planning permission is granted.

The project, which will take a year to complete, will see the creation of a three-mile diversion west of Blubberhouses at Kex Gill.

The Department for Transport and North Yorkshire County Council hope the new route will solve problems caused by landslips, which have blighted travel on the road for years.

The road was closed for eight weeks in 2016 and traffic diverted through Ilkley and Otley after heavy rain caused a landslip.

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County councillors are set to pledge further funding next week for the realignment of the road if costs go above a government grant.

Plans for the new road on the A59 at Kex Giill. Picture: North Yorkshire County Council.

Plans for the new road on the A59 at Kex Giill. Picture: North Yorkshire County Council.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told the Stray Ferret he was “hopeful” the scheme will go ahead.

He said:

“We are pressing for a decision on the funding.

“It has been a difficult year and there has been a change of government since we put the bid in.

“But everything we are hearing from the Department for Transport is positive.”

Cllr Mackenzie added the project could begin without traffic disruption to begin with but it might occur towards the end when the new road is connected with the existing A59.

The Department for Transport has indicated it will offer up to £56 million towards the project, with the county council covering the remaining £4.95 million.

While the government has yet to give final funding approval, it has set a condition that any further costs would need to be met by the authority.

Council bosses have estimated the overall cost to be £60 million, but added it could increase to £61 million if a public inquiry is held.

A planning application for the project will go before the council’s planning committee on December 15.

Senior county councillors have been recommended to accept the funding condition at a meeting on Tuesday next week.

Ripon coronavirus testing site being considered

A coronavirus testing site in Ripon could open in an effort to expand capacity.

Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, said at a press briefing today the authority was “scoping” a mobile site in the city from next week.

However, no further details have been revealed.

Ripon has some of the lowest rates of covid infections in the Harrogate district.

Today’s press briefing also revealed the full-time Harrogate testing site on Dragon Road is averaging 180 tests per day – well below its capacity of 320.

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A further 50 cases of coronavirus were confirmed today in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England.

The figure takes the total number of cases up to 3,254.

There are further encouraging signs that the spread of the virus is slowing.

The seven-day average rate of infections for the district has fallen to 241 per 100,000 people, down from 307 last week.

It means the district has fallen from having the second highest rate in the county to the fourth highest behind Selby, Craven and Scarborough.

The R number has also gone down from 1.6 to 1.2.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, told today’s press briefing of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of emergency agencies, that consensus was needed over future restrictions.

He said the tier one measures, which were in place in the county until the second lockdown, did not give people “a sense of seriousness about the situation”.

Tier one ‘did not work’, says North Yorkshire public health boss

North Yorkshire’s top public health boss has said tier one lockdown restrictions “did not work” and had “no teeth”.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at the county council, said the measures did not give people “a sense of seriousness about the situation”.

The England lockdown is due to end on December 2 and county council leaders said they expect to hear from ministers on what restrictions will be introduced at the end of next week.

North Yorkshire was under tier one restrictions, which meant people followed national guidance with no further restrictions.

But Dr Sargeant told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of emergency agencies, that those in tier two restrictions tackled coronavirus better.

He said:

“There are some things we know for certain. Tier one did not really work, it did not give the public a sense of the seriousness of the situation.

“It just did not have the teeth. We were saying that for some time, we were saying that the issues in North Yorkshire were around household spread and mixing.

“It was not until tier two that you really had measures that would address that particular issue.”

He added that there needed to be “consistency and consensus” from political leaders over what the restrictions will be after lockdown in order for the public to take measures seriously.

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Meanwhile, Dr Sargeant said data appeared to show infections were “plateauing”, but stopped short of saying lockdown measures had worked.

He said:

“We are hopefully beginning to see, particularly in the data around hospitalisations, perhaps the beginning of a plateauing.

“I am very hesitant to say that this is definitely showing a sustained effect of lockdown. We expect to see the effect of lockdown beginning to show this week into next.

“But there is some suggestion that we might be levelling off and we need to keep watching that and hope that it is sustained.”

The briefing also revealed the number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital has remained flat. Currently, 27 people are being treated compared with 28 last week.

Harrogate’s testing site on Dragon Road is averaging 180 tests per day, well below its capacity of 320.

Yesterday, Public Health England figures showed a further 48 positive tests in the district, taking the total cases since March up to 3,204.

Following a change by Public Health England into how it records cases, the total number of cases in the district has fallen by 201.

Positive tests are now recorded by where the test is carried out, instead of where the person is registered with the NHS.

£7 million for Harrogate district businesses affected by covid

Government grants worth more than £7 million will be awarded to Harrogate district businesses affected by lockdown.

The government announced the funding after non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants were forced to close throughout November.

Businesses in the district have faced a tough time during the lockdown, with some saying it came at the “worst possible time”.

Now the borough council has been given £7,127,446 in total to support businesses affected by the lockdown.

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The funding is available in two separate grant streams.

The UK government’s Additional Restrictions Grant scheme is for businesses forced to close that do not directly pay business rates, as well as those that do not have to close but have been impacted by the lockdown.

This could include businesses that supply retail, hospitality and leisure services. However, the borough council has yet to open applications for the grants.

Open ‘as soon as possible’

Nadhim Zahawi MP, minister for business and industry, confirmed in a written statement to Parliament that local authorities have been allocated funding for the scheme. Harrogate Borough Council has been given £3,216,620.

A spokesperson for the authority said the scheme would be open “as soon as possible”.

The other tranche of funding is from the government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant, which the council will also administer.

The government has allocated the council £3,910,086 for the scheme, which would see businesses offered grants up to £3,000 depending on their rateable value.

It is aimed at businesses that were open as usual, but were then required to close by law due to the national lockdown for 28 days.

It will support “in-person services”, such as non-essential retail, leisure and hospitality.

To be eligible, businesses must have been forced to close for at least 14 days because of the restrictions, be unable to provide their usual in-person service and be paying business rates to qualify.

The borough council has opened applications for the local restrictions grant.

Ripon charity uses robot cats to help dementia sufferers

Dementia sufferers in North Yorkshire have received a new gift to keep their spirits up during lockdown — robot cats.

Knaresborough Rotary Club funded 50 cats for Dementia Forward, a Ripon-based charity that supports people with dementia.

Each robot weighs about the same as a cat and interacts in a lifelike way, creating a calming effect.

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Jill Quinn, chief executive of Dementia Forward, said people had become attached to the cats after the charity trialed them.

She said:

“They are very lifelike and purr and react when they are stroked.

“They can provide comfort for a person with dementia who is anxious or unable to settle by providing a calming effect.

“One example we witnessed was a woman who was very into arts and crafts, but her dementia meant that she would get anxious and wasn’t able to stay involved in any activity.

“But once we placed the cat on her knee she sat and stroked it – it created a calming distraction which enabled her to stay focussed and enjoy the activity.”

The cats are part of a wider effort to find innovative ways to help people during the pandemic and lockdown.

Dementia Forward, which is funded by North Yorkshire County Council to provide dementia support in the county, has launched a ‘cafe in a box’ scheme.

The initiative involves delivering boxes tailored to each individual interests, for instance puzzles, jigsaws, books, games, laminated jokes and sheets with activities.

Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate has donated teabags and biscuits to the boxes, hence the ‘cafe’ name.

Marie-Ann Jackson, head of stronger communities at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Like many local organisations across the county who are unable to deliver their normal support services due to the current restrictions, Dementia Forward have come up with some wonderfully innovative and alternative ways to support people.

“The café in a box is such a great idea, especially as they are personalising the boxes so they are really tailored to be an individual’s interests.”

863 covid cases in Harrogate district so far this month

A total of 863 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district so far in November.

Analysis of figures from Public Health England shows how the number of cases has soared locally, although there are signs the rate may be flattening.

In the past week alone, 426 cases were confirmed in the district.

Daily covid cases and deaths reported at Harrogate District Hospital up to November 14. Data: Public Health England/NHS England. Graph: The Stray Ferret.

Daily covid cases and deaths reported at Harrogate District Hospital up to November 14. Data: Public Health England/NHS England. Graph: The Stray Ferret.

Unless infections fall significantly in the next fortnight, the monthly total will comfortably surpass the 1,353 recorded in October.

There were a record 95 infections on Monday last week but by Saturday the number had fallen to 34. The R number has also declined from 1.6 to 1.4.

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Meanwhile, the latest data from North Yorkshire County Council shows the average rate of infections per 100,000 people stands at 265 – down from a record high of 307 last week. The latest figure refers to the seven days to November 12.

The data overall suggests the impact of the national lockdown on November 5 may be having an effect.

Only one Harrogate district area – Knaresborough North – is currently in the top 10 places in the county for the most covid cases. It has recorded 46 infections in the last seven days.

Eight of the areas in the top 10 are in the Scarborough borough, with Filey and Hummanby reporting the most of all with 84.

North Knaresborough and central Harrogate are local covid hotspots

Knaresborough and Central Harrogate are the current covid hotspots in the Harrogate district, according to the latest government figures.

The seven-day average rate of infections in the week to November 10 reveals the two local areas each recorded 44 new cases — more than anywhere else.

Harrogate Central was the fourth highest local area in the district last week, with 26 cases. Knaresborough was not in the top five.

Both areas also appear in the top 10 list for the county.

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The Scarborough borough accounts for seven of the top 10 places, with Filey and Hummanby reporting the most of all with 79.

Dishthorpe, Baldersby and Markington reported the lowest number of cases in the Harrogate district with six.

Highest number of cases
1= Harrogate Central 44
1= Knaresborough 44
3 Harrogate East 37
5= Harrogate West and Pannal 36
5= Killinghall and Hampsthwaite 36

Lowest number of cases
1 Dishthorpe, Baldersby and Markington 6
2= Masham, Kirkby Malzeard and North Stainley 7
2= Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley 7
4= Knaresborough Central 13
4= Ripon North and West 13

Harrogate district covid rate falls after record high

Harrogate district’s coronavirus seven-day rolling average has fallen after hitting a record high, according to latest figures.

Data from North Yorkshire County Council shows the average rate per 100,000 people stands at 285 – a drop from 307 last week.

The data was published yesterday and relates to infection levels in the seven days to November 12.

The district’s rate rose dramatically along with other areas of North Yorkshire in early November.

However, the district still has the second highest rate in the county and remains above the national average of 269.

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Scarborough has the highest weekly rate at 577, which has raised concern among county council bosses.

In another sign that rates in the Harrogate district may have peaked, the R number, which refers to the reproduction rate of the virus, has reduced from 1.6 a week ago to 1.4.

This means every 10 people that test positive in the district will infect another 14.

Last week, Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, warned last week that rates in the county were “soaring”.

He said:

“Infection rates are soaring in many areas.

“We had been doing very well and we went into the current lockdown in the lowest tier of intervention. Sadly, our current rates put us in a very different place.”