Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths for 12 days in a row.

That news comes after the hospital discharged one more patient – taking its total of recoveries up to 136.

So far, the hospital has reported 80 coronavirus deaths. The last coronavirus death happened on June 18.

Read more:

• Why local health bosses are urging people to stay two metres apart
• Harrogate and Ripon hospitals open doors to visitors

A further 35 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England’s hospitals, taking the total up to 28,794.

Patients were aged between 54 and 92 years old. Two patients, aged 54 and 84, had no known underlying health conditions.

A free walking tour of Harrogate is making a comeback next week for much smaller groups.

Free Walking Tour Harrogate will be back from Wednesday, July 8, for groups of around six to eight people.

Harry Satloka had been taking people on a leisurely stroll around the town for the last couple of years until coronavirus hit.

It meant that he needed to stop his regular tour but Harry moved online with videos about Knaresborough Castle and the history of sweets.

Read more:

• How the Stray became an outdoor gym for personal trainers
• Why the police are planning more patrols for Super Saturday

Harry Satloka told The Stray Ferret:

“I can’t wait to be back, it’s been a long time. I had to do a recce last week to make sure I could remember the usual route. I was wary about coming back but seeing the latest government advice I think that now is the right time.”

As well as limiting the size of groups, Harry will sterilise anything before handing it out and he will also have them stored online.

To find out availability for the free tours visit the Free Walking Tour Harrogate website.

Local health commissioners have urged people to stick to the two-metre social distancing rules ahead of ‘Super Saturday’.

It is contrary to the changes brought in by the Prime Minister, who appeared to ditch the two-metre rule last week.

Boris Johnson had rolled out “one-metre plus” guidance, to help the likes of pubs and restaurants ahead of reopening.

Read more:

• Police plan more patrols as Harrogate pubs reopen
• Harrogate and Ripon hospitals open doors to visitors

However, leaders from the NHS North Yorkshire CCG have urged people to remember that the coronavirus has not gone away.

Dr Peter Billingsley said that people should stay two metres apart wherever possible:

“If two metres is not possible then the ‘one metre plus’ guidance should include additional measures such as wearing a face covering or mask, installing screens where possible, sitting side by side rather than face to face and continuing to wash your hands regularly.”

Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital have relaxed the visitor rules for all inpatients.

From today the hospitals will allow one visitor per patient as long as they book beforehand by calling the relevant ward.

Visitors will need to complete a coronavirus questionnaire and will only be allowed in the hospital between 2pm and 4pm.

The hospitals have urged people not to arrive on the doorstep without booking, so they can carefully manage numbers.

Read more:

• Harrogate has second-highest coronavirus death rate in county
• County council needs more funding to tackle future coronavirus costs

All visitors must also wear personal protective equipment including a mask, a visor and an apron, which will be provided upon arrival.

There is more information for those visiting patients at end of life, with a learning disability, and with dementia, on the hospital website.

The relaxing of rules comes as the hospital has gone 11 days without reporting any coronavirus deaths.

North Yorkshire County Council has taken down its pavement widening cones on West Park after pressure from businesses.

The cones have moved back and forth in recent days but they will be removed permanently by the end of the week.

One of the reasons why the council put up the cones was because of the outcry surrounding pubs reopening for takeaway drinks. It led to customers spilling out into the road.

But it did not go down well with most businesses on the street. One retailer even threatened to rip them up.

Read more:

• Why a retailer threatened to rip up pavement widening cones
• When the council introduced pavement widening
• Why the county council wants pavement widening

Many others on the street also said that the road was wide enough already and that the council did not consult with them.

The pavement widening measures on West Park.

A council spokesperson told The Stray Ferret that the cones are not needed:

“Our highways team visited a number of businesses along West Park yesterday and it was established that the parking bay suspensions are no longer required. The cones are piled up on the footway in a safe place and will be removed before the end of the week.”

This is a u-turn that most retailers on West Park will welcome but it may not go down as well with the pubs which are reopening this weekend.

Police are planning more patrols this weekend as pubs in Harrogate reopen for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown.

Some venues may not reopen this weekend and others will have booking systems in place but many will come back from July 4.

Not only will there be an increased police presence on the streets but there will also be more drink and drug driving patrols.

Read more:

• Harrogate pub owners said they followed government guidelines
• Why did the council serve The Coach and Horses with a prohibition notice?

North Yorkshire Police is urging everyone to play their part and “celebrate respectfully and peacefully.”

Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker said:

“As we see our high streets, communities and now licenced venues open up again, we urge people to drink responsibly and respect local residents and their peace and quiet. Licensees have had a very difficult few months, please don’t make things worse for your favourite pub or bar by risking their licence through antisocial behaviour or worse.”

Richard Flinton, Chair of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum and Chief executive of NYCC, added:

“It is very positive to see how carefully the lifting of the lockdown measures are being considered by the many pubs, restaurants and hotels which will start to trade again. If we get this right we will manage the risks and be able to enjoy some semblance of normality with our friends and family again – while not spreading the virus.”

The Harrogate district has the second-highest coronavirus death rate in North Yorkshire despite the fact that it is the least deprived area.

This new information seems to defy the national picture where the virus death rate in poorer and BAME communities tends to be much higher.

The director of public health for North Yorkshire’s report revealed that only Craven has a marginally higher death rate than the Harrogate district.

Read more:

• Ten days without coronavirus deaths but care home deaths rising
• County council needs more funding to tackle future coronavirus costs

The Harrogate district has a crude mortality rate of 108.4 compared to 112.6 in Craven. The lowest mortality rate in the county is in Selby with 48.3.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant’s report points to the high number of care homes and the high proportion of elderly residents in Harrogate to explain the high death rate.

Coronavirus in care homes

All parts of North Yorkshire have care homes and have reported outbreaks but that number continues to grow. Of those outbreaks, 37% occurred in the Harrogate district back in May.

At that time 555 residents had either been in self-isolation or suffering with coronavirus. North Yorkshire County Council has purchased 200 additional beds to provide resilience.

The report also described the testing time in care home settings as a “critical issue.” It added that it is too long to support effective public health actions.

Meanwhile, more recent figures from care homes revealed that there have now been 94 deaths in the Harrogate district.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths for the last six days.

The last recorded death at the hospital happened on June 18, meaning that it remains at 80 deaths for another day with 135 patient discharges.

It comes as hospitals in England report another 67 deaths. Hospitals in the North East and Yorkshire made up 13 of those deaths.

Read more:

• When Harrogate care homes recorded 90 deaths
• Why the hospital has not taken in any coronavirus patients for eight days
• New budget amid coronavirus costs ‘not necessary’, says council

Patients were aged between 52 and 98 years old. One patient, aged 86, had no known underlying health conditions.

Harrogate hospital said yesterday that it has not admitted any new coronavirus patients for eight days. It also said it is at the lowest number of inpatients since the start of lockdown.

Vandals have pulled up young trees on the Stray in the evening that police officers cracked down on large groups.

Community police officers tried to disperse some of the larger groups yesterday and reminded them of the social distancing guidelines.

Some rebutted the officers and claimed that they were all in different groups of six or that they were all from the same family.

The levels of litter this morning were not close to the mounds of rubbish left the day before. A new problem has emerged this morning but it is unclear who is responsible.

Read more:

• When a volunteer described the rubbish on the Stray as the worst for six years
• Why some groups think Harrogate has lost its “feel-good factor”?
• When a group of young men won praise for cleaning up rubbish on the Stray

Judy d’Arcy Thompson from the Stray Defence Association (SDA) said this morning that the uprooting of trees just adds to the “horrendous destruction.”

“We now seem to have marauding gangs of youths wreaking mayhem on our Stray. The drunken, lewd and downright disgusting behaviour is going on all night every night. There seems to be no limit to what they will do or how disgusting their behaviour can become.”

Police dispersed groups on the Stray yesterday evening.

She added that the SDA has seen reports of mass gatherings, drug-taking and dealing on a huge scale as well as youngsters urinating and defecating.

An SDA committee member Guy Tweedy had planted the trees in memory of several people.

The Stray Ferret has approached both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police for a comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Harrogate District Hospital has not admitted any new coronavirus patients for the eighth day in a row.

It is also at the lowest number of inpatients since the start of lockdown. That news comes as the hospital reached 135 patient discharges.

The hospital has not reported any new coronavirus deaths since Saturday, so it remains at 80 deaths.

A spokesperson for the hospital said it was fantastic news:

“A massive thank you to all Harrogate hospital staff. Thank you as well to everyone who has played their part socially distancing, shielding and looking after themselves these past few tough months.”

The hospital also encouraged people to continue following social distancing guidelines to keep the number of coronavirus patients down.