Harrogate District Hospital has reported that one more of its patients who tested positive for coronavirus has died, taking the hospital’s total number up to 47.

The patient died yesterday and was announced with a further 352 in England’s hospitals, 40 in Scotland, 17 in Wales, and 18 in Northern Ireland.

This comes as the Office for National Statistics revealed that the mortality rate in poorer communities is higher than those in more affluent areas.

The study is “age-standardised” which means that it takes into account the size and age structure of the population.

Poorer areas have a death rate of 55.1 per 100,000 people but richer areas have a much lower rate of 25.3 per 100,000 people.

Harrogate, which is considered to be one of the least deprived areas, has a mortality rate of 23 per 100,000 people.

The local authorities with the highest rates were all London boroughs like Newham, Brent, and Hackney which all have rates above 127.

Nick Stripe, the head of health analysis at the Office for National Statistics, said:

“People living in more deprived areas have experienced COVID-19 mortality rates more than double those living in less deprived areas. General mortality rates are normally higher in more deprived areas, but so far COVID-19 appears to be taking them higher still.”

The Great Knaresborough Bed Race will go ahead this year in a virtual format after coronavirus forced organisers to cancel the spectacle.

Details are sparse at the moment but the ‘Bed Race 2020 Unplugged’ will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2020.

Over the coming weeks, the Knaresborough Lions Club will try to keep spirits high by getting the community involved in the bed race at a safe distance.

First up, the organisers have asked people to draw, paint, and make collages of beds to put up in their windows and send them into their Facebook page.

Amanda George, for the Knaresborough Lions, said today:

“We must not gather on the streets, so there will be nothing to go and see outside on the day – but people will be able to enjoy a virtual Bed Race experience from their homes. As ever, it will combine community spirit, joyful pageantry, gritty athleticism and downright quirkiness.”

Harrogate District Hospital will start to restore vital health services like cancer care as the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK is now over the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

The services were paused nationwide so doctors and nurses could focus on coronavirus. The health secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that hospital trusts would determine the pace of restoration.

Health bosses at Harrogate Hospital have said that they are now reviewing the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

I can confirm that we are past the peak of this disease.

We are past the peak and we are on the downward slope.

And we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term.

But we can only defeat coronavirus by our collective discipline and working together.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 1, 2020

Robert Harrison, Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Emergency Officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“Focus is now turning to the medium term management of the impact of Coronavirus. This primarily covers sustainable care for patients with suspected and confirmed cases along with an approach to recovery and the delivery of services that have been significantly suspended during the past couple of months.

“We are prioritising the reintroduction of services based on clinical need, and ensuring we can do so safely as we continue to respond to Coronavirus. We are currently developing our plans and we’ll be directly in touch with patients over the coming weeks and months.

The hospital also highlighted that its Emergency Department is and has always been available despite the coronavirus outbreak.

“Thank you to patients, relatives and the general public for your understanding over the past few months. Your patience for the months to come while we recover and adjust back to providing a full range of services is also be much appreciated.

“Thank you as well to all my colleagues across our hospital and community services for their focus on patient care, dedication and positive attitude over what has been a very challenging time for the NHS.”

Harrogate BID’s statement comes after The Stray Ferret yesterday reported on the resignation of its chairman and three of its directors.

The four sent a stinging letter of resignation to the board citing undue council influence, a lack of openness, and a business plan that does not reflect the reality of the state of the town centre.

Chairman Bob Kennedy and directors Chris Bentley, Robert Ogden and Rob Spencer cited an accumulation of negative impacts from the UCI Road World Championships and the Covid-19 lockdown, as well as a more general crisis for retail. Read the resignation letter in full here.

In its statement the Harrogate BID does not refer to many of the criticism’s raised in the resignation letter – but does say the BID recognises the challenges facing Harrogate:

“We are naturally very disappointed by the resignations of the four board members after only four months, but we would like to thank them for their contribution since the beginning of the year.

“The Covid19 crisis has meant that our programme of activities outlined in our business plan – which was revised at the beginning of the year and agreed unanimously by all the Board members including those who have resigned – is having to be re-thought.

“We are now looking at a number of innovations and promotions to ensure that, when the lockdown is ended, Harrogate is the first choice shopping destination for residents and visitors alike

“We are here to work with all town centre stakeholders – namely traders, transport providers, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, and of course our Customers who come here to shop, eat and be entertained

“We are certainly not under any illusion about the challenges that we face over the coming weeks and months.

“The departure of these four will not detract us from the job in hand. Our focus is firmly fixed on making the town the best it can be, enhancing what we already have here, and promoting the town centre and the diverse range of businesses that it is home to.”

The Stray Ferret has asked for a response from both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council to the issues raised in the resignation letter and have not received a reply at the time of publication.

People across the Harrogate district, including firefighters and police officers, turned out this evening to show their appreciation for the staff working at care homes.

The Stray Ferret took videos of clapping at Sycamore Care Home in Ripon as well as The Cuttings and Belmont House, which are both in Starbeck.

Natalie Pye, a Senior Care Assistant at Belmont House, said that it was lovely to see the support they have after a busy 12-hour shift.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths today – with 46 patients confirmed dead so far – and has now released 70 of its patients after treatment for COVID-19.

A further 391 people, who tested positive for the Coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 20,137.

Patients were aged between 15 and 101 years old. 15 of the 391 patients, who were aged between 49 and 97 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

As of today, Thursday 30 April,
70 inpatients at Harrogate District Hospital have recovered from Covid-19 and been discharged. #thankyouNHS #coronavirus#NHSHereForYou pic.twitter.com/h3LoqM1jGv

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) April 30, 2020

Hospitals in the North East and Yorkshire region reported 75 of today’s deaths. Their families have been informed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), has revealed that up to April 17, there have been 22 Harrogate coronavirus deaths outside the hospital.

19 of those deaths outside hospital were recorded in care homes, one death was recorded at home and another two deaths happened in “other communal establishments.”

Works to improve the A1 (M) Junction 47 have been given the green light despite already being 50% over budget.

The junction will be upgraded to include traffic signals and to widen the slip roads.

Additionally, an extra traffic lane will be installed on the eastbound A59 between the Flaxby roundabout and the A1(M) junction.

Traffic signals will also be installed at the A59/A168 junction just to the east of the A1(M) junction.

North Yorkshire County Council has approved the scheme and is working with Highways England to deliver the project by March 2021.

The original estimated costs were £5.03 million but that has now been revised up to £7.766 million – which is 54% over budget.

However, the work will still go-ahead with surplus money from the Harrogate to York rail improvements being moved to fill the A1 (M) Junction 47 shortfall.

Council documents reveal that the work will take the Nightingale Hospital into account when phasing the carriageway works and that the costs could increase further by another £200,000.

The documents also highlight how coronavirus social distancing measures are “likely” to have an impact on start dates and the project costs.

New figures on coronavirus deaths, which now includes statistics outside of hospitals, paint the clearest picture yet of the outbreak in the Harrogate district.

The government has released three different sets of data, which will be released on either a weekly or a daily basis.

The first set of data, released daily, is the number of deaths in hospitals and, with two more deaths reported today, Harrogate District Hospital has now reported 46 deaths.

The second set of data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has revealed that up to April 17, there have been 22 Harrogate coronavirus deaths outside the hospital.

19 of those deaths outside hospital were recorded in care homes, one death was recorded at home and another two deaths happened in “other communal establishments.”

The final set of figures is the number of care homes that have reported a coronavirus outbreak, which is the first time this data has been released.

Of Harrogate’s 71 care homes, 26 have so far reported outbreaks. That works out at 36.6% of the district’s care homes.

North Yorkshire County Council has approved a £10 million scheme to double rail services between Harrogate and York, allowing two trains per hour in each direction.

Improvement will come from upgrading the signalling technology, from enabling faster speeds as well as from more efficient use of areas with double track.

The Harrogate Line Supporters Group has called for many years for the single-track section between Knaresborough and Cattal to be converted into double-track.

However, the county council – which secured funding for the project back in 2013 – estimates that converting the route into double-track would have cost £40 million.

The scheme could have been scrapped altogether when Northern Rail was taken into public ownership but the council has worked with Network Rail to find a cheaper option.

Network Rail has agreed to fix the cost of the project, including all development and design work, at £9.854 million.

The council has identified £9.6 million from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership as well as £3.4 million from parking fines to fund the works.

Council documents have proposed using the surplus from the under budget rail improvement scheme for the overbudget A1 (M) Junction 47 works.

Councillors met virtually to approve the funding for the scheme on Tuesday morning. The deadline for the completion of works from December 2020 to May 2021.

Brian Dunsby, from the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, told the Stray Ferret that the group welcomes the news:

“We have been waiting for this investment for several years after our plans for doubling the actual track throughout were rejected, because there was not sufficient money in the budget to meet Network Rail’s estimate of the potential cost.”

Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet will hold its first-ever virtual meeting next week on Wednesday, May 6.

All committee, council, and cabinet meetings had been suspended since the coronavirus lockdown in March.

This is because of laws which said meetings at which decisions are made, and votes taken, had to happen face to face with elected members all at the same location.

The government temporarily changed the rules to enable council meetings to take place from April 4 and other councils across the country have been taking advantage of that.

Now Harrogate’s councillors will use Microsoft Teams for the 5.30pm meeting, and it will be combined with a live stream so the meeting can be followed on the council’s YouTube channel.

Graham Swift, cabinet member with responsibility for democratic services, said:

“We have managed to conduct business continuously throughout the pandemic but larger decision making that engages council, cabinet or committee had to be postponed. However, now that the government has introduced new legislation to permit remote meetings, we can get back to conducting our committee decisions collectively, and in public.I am grateful to our democratic services and ICT teams for the work they’ve done to make this happen.”