A patient with coronavirus died yesterday at Harrogate District Hospital, it was confirmed today.

It brings the total number of deaths under Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to 56, while the trust announced last Thursday that it had treated and discharged 97 patients with coronavirus since the outbreak began.

Outside the hospital, the latest information from the ONS shows there have been 51 deaths in care homes in the district.

NHS England has today reported 174 deaths across the country, in patients aged between seven and 102. Of those, six patients – aged between 45 and 90 – had no known underlying health conditions.

The organisation has reported that its Covid-10 patient notification system was not operating for a period of time on Saturday, meaning some of the deaths reported during that time may come through in data released later this week.

For most people, coping with lockdown and the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic can be challenging. It can be so much worse for people who already struggle with their mental health. 

The Harrogate branch of Mind has been offering its support for the last eight weeks. 

Development manager Helen Greensit, one of a team of three making regular phone calls to check in on people, said the initial challenge was the change in routine. 

“It’s the change, in the fact that they can’t do what they would normally do. And it’s the worry about, ‘can I go and get my shopping?’. Especially for people who are vulnerable and have underlying health conditions – many of them are staying indoors anyway. For others, it has messed with that routine. 

“A little group of them used to go to the pictures every now and again. All that is disrupted. For those who have got a daily routine going, they suddenly can’t do that.” 

The small team at Mind began by calling people to check in, offering to call back once a fortnight or week, or even several times a week if it was needed. Some said they were fine without a regular call – but the team called back after a few weeks, and some said at that point that they would benefit from a regular chat. 

Working together

Through the conversations, Helen and her colleagues also identified people in need of additional help. They liaised with the Resurrected Bites food waste project to arrange deliveries for people who were struggling to get food, as well as speaking to GPs and pharmacies to ensure essential medicine and healthcare were available. 

It is not just people who were already known to Mind who have benefited from its support – a growing number of new contacts are being made and added to the list of calls. Helen is keen to reach even more and welcomes anyone who gets in touch.

A loss of routine made the first few weeks of lockdown hard for many people

In a two-week period, there are more than 170 calls being made to people in the community to check in, have a chat and schedule the next call. As well as supporting vulnerable people, Helen and her colleagues are finding benefits for themselves in the conversations. She said: 

“We’ve opened it up to the community. We’ve said, ‘it’s a community service, if you are feeling lonely and isolated, even if it’s just a weekly chat you want about your pet rabbit, if that’s what you want, that’s fine’.

“A lot of my friends think ‘lucky you, going to work’. I do feel happy I’ve got a purpose and I can come into work and I can do something valuable that’s going to be helpful.” 

Alongside their calls, the team at Mind are now looking towards the next steps, when lockdown eases. The Acorn Centre on Station Parade usually hosts up to 30 people at a time, with some doing crafts and activities, others chatting informally over a coffee, or getting help from the staff and volunteers. 

Planning ahead

Helen said that, in line with government guidance, it may be possible in the coming weeks to re-open to smaller numbers. The phone support is likely to continue for those who are still isolating at home, and to provide additional support for people who can’t be accommodated as often as usual at the centre. 

Having started in her role just weeks before lockdown began, Helen said she has found it challenging – but has enjoyed feeling she was making a difference to people’s well-being. 

“It has always been about the people for me. Supporting and helping people is what drives me. 

“I wouldn’t have imagined it would be quite as strange times as this. It hasn’t really allowed me to get to grips with things in the way we would have done.

“It’s really nice to hear a voice on the end of the phone and think, ‘they sound like they’re doing OK’.”

If you are struggling with your mental health and need someone to talk, you get in touch with Mind on 01423 503335. Their telephone support service is available between 8.30am – 5pm every weekday. For information click here. 

All creatures great and small will gather together – virtually – tomorrow, as churches in the Boroughbridge area unite for a pet service.

Rev Karen Gardiner, vicar of the united parishes of Aldborough, Boroughbridge, Dunsforth, Minskip and Roecliffe, is preparing to bring families and their four-legged friends together despite the lockdown.

Animals will receive a blessing in the 4pm online service, which is open to anyone who wants to participate, including those without pets.

Rev Gardiner said: “We’re looking forward to it very much. We’ve actually got the Bishop of Ripon joining us and giving the final blessing, so that’s going to be really nice.

“It should be a fun-packed service. We know we’ve got horses, dogs and cats so far, and we’re hoping for more.”

The united churches in the Boroughbridge area have been offering online services since lockdown began

With three cats in her family home, Rev Gardiner said animals have become particularly important to people during lockdown and she hopes tomorrow’s service will attract people who do not usually go to church. She added:

“Something like a pet service is one of those things that people relate to. At the moment, people’s pets have come to mean such a lot to them, especially if you’re on your own – but even in a family, our cats have been a tremendous emotional support. It feels right to have a chance to say thank you to them.”

Rev Gardiner’s cats will be joining the pet service too

Last year, a pet service at Dunsforth proved very popular among locals and it was scheduled to take place again this year. When lockdown began, rather than cancel, Rev Gardiner decided to move the event online.

This Sunday’s pet service will be conducted via Zoom, but anyone without the technology who wants to join in can send a photo of their pet in advance for inclusion in the service. A written transcript will also be available.

More information about how to join the service can be found on the churches’ Facebook page.

Parking restrictions have been introduced across the Harrogate district, with signs suggesting they could be applied for more than four months.

James Street, Commercial Street and parts of Albert Street in Harrogate town centre have been roped off, along with parking bays on Knaresborough High Street. Pateley Bridge’s High Street and Ripon’s High Skellgate and Westgate have been reduced in width to a single lane.

North Yorkshire County Council’s signs say the restrictions are designed to enable social distancing and are in place until the end of September. However, the authority confirmed on Twitter the parking bays will be closed this weekend, with monitoring in place to determine how effective the measures are.

While shops, cafes, bars and restaurants are not currently allowed to open, the government has said the restrictions could be eased in the coming weeks. NYCC has not confirmed whether the weekend’s restrictions will be extended, though the signs suggest they could be in place until the end of September.

The notices on James Street suggest restrictions could be in place until the end of September

Richard Flinton, chief executive of NYCC, said in a message to residents:

“We are doing our best to limit crowds in those places where lack of space is particularly concerning such as Whitby, Filey, Scarborough and Harrogate.

“We are closing a number of streets, shutting certain car parks and suspending parking in a number of areas. We will also have highways crews looking out for any issues of concern over the weekend and ready to take the action open to us, to respond.”

If restrictions on town centre parking remain in place after shops are allowed to re-open, they are likely to cause concern for businesses already affected by declining footfall before lockdown began. Independent Harrogate, which represents small businesses in the town, has been campaigning for free parking to encourage more shoppers to visit and bolster the local economy.

Environmental campaigners argue the quiet roads and increase in cycling and walking over recent weeks should be part of the Harrogate district’s plans for the future. Zero Carbon Harrogate has said now is the ideal time to improve infrastructure for low-carbon transport and encourage people to choose options other than cars.

More visitors were seen in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens today

Visitor attractions

Fears had been raised that, over the first weekend since changes to lockdown advice from the government, crowds could descend on town centres and attractions, making it very difficult for people to keep their distance.

Harrogate’s Valley Gardens today appeared much busier than it has been over recent weeks, with no parking restrictions nearby. Organisations including Yorkshire Water and the Yorkshire Dales National Park issued advice against travelling to potentially busy places.

Mr Flinton added:

“We hope this is reassuring, but you all have a part to play in this, too. Of course, enjoy the outdoors; there is no finer place than our county in my, perhaps biased, view.

“But, please, access open countryside rather than paths, narrow lanes or town and village centres. If you can do so close to your home all the better, and be prepared to change your mind if where you are heading looks busy. Protect yourselves and your family by avoiding crowds and encourage anyone you know who is thinking of coming – to wait until we can offer them a real North Yorkshire welcome in the future.”

What are your experiences of the new restrictions and social distancing across the Harrogate district this weekend? Email us with your views.

For the third consecutive day, there have been no new confirmed coronavirus deaths at Harrogate District Hospital.

The total number of deaths at the hospital remains 54, in figures released by NHS England today.

Across the country, 181 more deaths have been confirmed in today’s statistics, in patients aged between 39 and 98. Of those, seven patients, aged between 43 and 67, had no known underlying health conditions.

This week, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it had discharged 97 people after treatment for coronavirus, since the start of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in care homes relating to Covid-19 stood at 54 in statistics released this week, covering the period to May 1.

Businesses preparing to return to work after the coronavirus lockdown could be doing so in completely different ways – and employment levels in the Harrogate district could take a hit.

Mike Patterson, head of employment law at Berwins, said many businesses may have found the enforced change actually suits them and they will keep some of the new ways of working even after lockdown ends.

However, he said there are still many tough weeks ahead for businesses, especially as the furlough scheme changes from August.

“Initially, we were dealing with lots of queries about furloughing. We’re now starting to get into post-lockdown, getting business back up and running. A lot of people were waiting for Boris’s roadmap to see the timetable to get people back to work.”

Mike Patterson of Berwins Solicitors

A series of announcements, changes and retractions in advice since the beginning of the crisis, have made it harder for lawyers, accountants and others to keep up with the latest situation in order to advise their clients, Mr Patterson said. The furlough regulations, for example, were produced in one large document and, when the scheme was tweaked, the document was updated but no information was published about what had been changed, leaving advisors to read it repeatedly to find the updates.

The way the announcements were made this week also gave some businesses and employees hardly any notice, from Sunday evening, that they could be expected back at work the following day. Mr Patterson added:

“I would have felt more comfortable if it was a consistent message with the rest of the UK. I like to think I’ve got a bit of common sense, but everybody’s different in what’s normal, what they think they should do.

“You’re saying tomorrow at 8am people who can’t work from home should go to work? You’re putting it back on the employee to take that decision as to whether it’s safe to go in? That’s pretty unfair in terms of lack of notice and lack of planning.”

Now, many businesses are looking at how they can resume more normal working in the coming weeks and months. The extension of the furlough scheme and the possibility of bringing staff back part-time while the economy gets moving again has been met with relief.

“Speaking to a few businesses and seeing what people are doing, that’s quite a welcome move. Businesses are nervous of this cliff edge the chancellor keeps speaking about. It’s not going to be back to normal over night, it’s going to take time. It helps to have flexibility and phased returns.”

Physical presence

The practical aspects of returning to work are at the top of business owners’ lists of priorities, he said. Enabling social distancing and other aspects of health and safety in workplaces all have to be considered, but businesses are also looking at whether returning to previous operations is even necessary or desirable.

“The traditional view of ‘we have got to be physically present,’, that’s potentially going to be something of the past. Their arm has been forced, given this: they have got to adapt and allow home working. It comes back to physical presence and it will impact on the space they need.”

For some businesses, there has been very little change to how they work. For others, whether changing the services they offer or allowing greater flexibility as parents juggle working hours with childcare, it has been a period of operating differently.

Mr Patterson said the return to work will have to have an element of flexibility too, for both employers and employees, as different sectors return to trading at different speeds.

In the long term, Mr Patterson said it is inevitable some businesses will be forced to make cuts:

“The furlough is a welcome safety net for businesses and employers. The reality is it’s maybe a bit of a honeymoon period that will have to come to an end and businesses will have to make difficult decisions.”

Businesses reliant on tourism for their income have expressed fears that the local economy could struggle to recover if social distancing guidelines remain in place in the long term.

Hospitality business owners say that, with a high reliance on Harrogate Convention Centre for their trade, having it out of action – either while in use as a Nightingale hospital or because social distancing does not allow events to take place – is extremely worrying.

While many say they understand and agree with the Nightingale hospital remaining on stand-by, it leaves a question mark over the income of dozens of local businesses reliant on tourism and corporate events. Kim Wilson, chair of guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate, said:

“It’s great it’s there and empty – we don’t want it to be busy – but it would be nice to have some deadline of when things will be back. I do appreciate nobody has that information though.”

Harrogate Convention Centre is currently home to NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber

The convention centre website says it contributes around £60m to the local economy, and its director has vowed to do all she can to support local businesses.

Having opened in September 2017, No 35 coffee shop on Cheltenham Crescent initially closed during lockdown, but re-opened offering take-away drinks at the beginning of May. Owner Nino Cutino said:

“Every year we’ve seen an increase in trade, which is good. We’re only very small, so a lot of our trade is the convention centre and take-away. I’m just unsure what’s going to happen. No-one knows.”

Mr Cutino said he fully supports use of HCC as a Nightingale hospital, and believes leaving it there for some time is the only sensible option, in case of a second wave of Covid-19, even if it impacts on local businesses. He added:

“It’s worrying, but we’re all just going to have to adapt, to try and overcome this.”

Ready to re-open

The Stray Ferret revealed last week that Harrogate Convention Centre is not currently being paid by the NHS for its use of the site, which is owned by Harrogate Borough Council. The current agreement runs until June, with an option to extend until July, and could continue beyond that if a new tenancy is agreed.

HCC director Paula Lorimer said: “We’re working hard behind the scenes to ensure we are ready to re-open once the time is right. Re-opening will be entirely dependent on government guidelines and advice, and at this time we continue to put the health and safety of our clients and staff first.”

Paula Lorimer

Some autumn events have been postponed to future dates, but she said there are still large events booked in which will go ahead with social distancing measures if possible.

Among those rescheduled to autumn is the Nursery Fair, now set to take place from October 18 to 20. Show organiser Adrian Sneyd said:

“Naturally, even looking this far ahead, safety of exhibitors and visitors is of primary importance and we will be taking advice and implementing methods to ensure that the show provides an effective business platform without putting participants at risk. This will be based on guidance applicable nearer the time but might need to include precautions such as having a different layout with wider aisles, considering how visitors access stands, and providing plenty of hand sanitizer.”

Upper Street Events, organisers of the Knitting & Stitching Show and Country Living Christmas Fair – which each bring thousands of visitors to Harrogate in the weeks before Christmas – said they were planning for the events to go ahead. A spokesman said:

“We are working hard behind the scenes and very closely with the venue and partners to ensure we are adhering to guidelines with regards to Coivd-19 and social gatherings for all events we run as a business. As organisers we are also exploring options around social distancing, hall layout, staggered entry, capacity and other health and safety aspects. At present we are not looking to explore other venues for either event.

“Decisions may change in line with Government advice, but all being well we look forward to be back in Harrogate later this year.”

Rescheduling events

The next scheduled event at HCC is in August and Ms Lorimer said plans are being made for it to be held safely. With a large venue, she said spreading events out into more space is possible, and HCC is sharing ideas with other venues for the best ways to achieve social distancing.

Ms Lorimer said she was working with organisers to reschedule events, rather than cancel them completely, which will help to support the recovery of the local economy as the crisis ends. She added:

“Harrogate Convention Centre is working closely with the HHTA (Harrogate Hospitality and Tourism Association) and other businesses over the next few weeks to share information, and to see if we can help support our town retailers as much as possible. Harrogate Convention Centre is the largest driver of economic impact, not just in Harrogate but the region, and we understand the important part we play in supporting the prosperity of the town.

“We are also pro-actively planning to target emerging industry sectors to ensure a healthy pipeline of activity. We will be back, better than before, just right now we don’t know when due to the current uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Residents in Harrogate have expressed concern about the confusing advice in the government’s changes to lockdown rules, after reports of rising numbers of people and cars on the streets.

Harrogate resident Paul Dutton said he worried that people who were already feeling more relaxed about restrictions would be encouraged to go even further in disregarding social distancing.

“I could see in the last week the roads were getting busier, there were more people out and about. We’ve been told not to go out unless we needed to. This will open the gates even further.

“I think people will push the boundaries, go to the coast, visit the sites of Yorkshire, take picnics and barbecues, walking through the fields. We just need to stay how we are.”

With his wife working as a GP in Leeds and his youngest son home from university, Mr Dutton said the family has been living as separately as possible within the house in order to reduce the risk of contamination. If people begin mixing again, he fears the family’s hard work to stay safe will be undone by another spike in cases which could bring it into their home through his wife’s work, no matter how careful they are.

Need for childcare

As a former Harrogate Grammar School teacher, he said he feels sorry for schools trying to find ways to meet the need for childcare if parents are pressured into returning to work. Suggestions of smaller class sizes would help with social distancing, but would be impractical for schools to implement, he said.

“If you are going to invite six or seven students back, which are they going to be? Are you going to rotate it? Are schools able to staff it in that way? It’s a huge conundrum. how do you resolve that? I really wouldn’t want to be in that situation now. I just feel if we waited another couple of weeks to see how the situation panned out, we could phase it in a different way.”

Social distancing will be almost impossible in schools, according to former teacher Paul Dutton

His concerns were echoed by Andy Johnson, a health and safety advisor mainly working on film and television projects, who said he has only had one job since the lockdown began. Not expecting his work to re-start properly until at least September, he is now offering his services to businesses which are looking at ways to re-open safely. However, as a widowed father with a teenage son at home in Harrogate, he is nervous about the risks of going into workplaces:

“It would depend on each individual case. If I was asked to go into a closed factory and do a risk assessment prior to it re-opening, as long as I could maintain social distancing, wear barriers, do my job and get out, I would be reasonably happy to do that. But not while people are working there.”

Mr Johnson said the “viral load” was a critical factor. People who come into contact with several people who have the virus on more than one occasion seem to become more seriously ill, he said, which meant opening workplaces and encouraging more travel could lead to a rise in the number of severe cases and deaths.

Lack of PPE

As a community first responder, he works alongside some paramedics and emergency medical technicians who also volunteer in their spare time. He said two of them are now suffering with coronavirus symptoms, including one admitted to hospital:

“They had what they thought was adequate protection. They think they’re safe, but they haven’t been safe. How can you ensure in a workplace that it’s safe? Chances are, you can’t. All you can do is what’s reasonable in the circumstances.”

However, with PPE in high demand, he questioned whether people going out to work would be able to find adequate protection for themselves, and whether workplaces could provide it for employees.

There have been no further deaths in patients with Covid-19 at Harrogate District Hospital, according to figures released today.

The last confirmed death was on Monday, May 4th, meaning there have been six days with zero deaths reported at the hospital.

The numbers released by NHS England today cover deaths confirmed up to yesterday evening. However, it can take several days for deaths to be confirmed, especially over weekends and bank holidays, so that data could still change over the coming week.

Nationally, NHS England said there have been 209 deaths in patients aged between 40 and 99. Of those, 12 patients aged between 55 and 97 had no known underlying health conditions.

Statistics released by the NHS only cover patients who died in hospitals. As well as the 51 patients who have died to date at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, there were 39 deaths in the community, including care homes, up to April 24th.

The hospital confirmed on Thursday that it had discharged 82 patients after treatment for coronavirus.

Organisations supporting vulnerable people through the coronavirus crisis have been given a boost thanks to donations from Bilton Community Fund.

The charitable trust gave £500 each to mental health organisation MIND, domestic abuse charity IDAS and Harrogate Samaritans, which provides 24-hour telephone support. The three charities were chosen in order to help them maintain vital services for people who might be struggling more than others during the lockdown.

Bilton Community Fund distributes profits from Bilton Gala, which was held for the final time in 2019, after falling attendance and financial losses meant it was no longer viable. However, the committee has continued to run the registered charity in order to support other community groups. Chairman Stuart Frost said:

“It was an extremely difficult decision to call time on Bilton Gala after more than 40 years, but all of us on the committee were determined to keep supporting our local community in other ways.

“When the coronavirus crisis started, we discussed what we could do to help and felt that it was important to support these good causes. We’re delighted that grants from Bilton Community Fund will make a real difference to so many people.”

The fund also donated £500 to Girlguiding North Yorkshire West, which is re-developing its Birk Crag residential and training centre in Harrogate. Once complete, it will be open to Rainbow, Brownie Guide and Ranger units from across the district, including around 150 young people in Bilton.

Bilton Gala drew crowds onto the streets with its annual opening parade