The latest deaths at Harrogate were recorded yesterday and bring the total at the district hospital to 32.  Across Yorkshire and the North East, a further 83 people have died. The figure across England was 482- a drop of 302 from Saturday.

NHS England said the patients who died were aged between 34 and 104 years old.  6 of them had no known underlying health condition.  These figures do not account for deaths outside the hospital of people who were not tested but died of suspected coronavirus.

Earlier this week, the hospital confirmed it had treated and discharged 51 patients so far. It also announced that the first patient had been discharged after treatment for coronavirus on a ventilator. Staff are understood to have applauded as the patient left the hospital.

We are really pleased to announce that our first patient who has been on a ventilator as a result of having COVID19 has today been discharged home. #COVID19 #OurNHSPeople

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) April 17, 2020

North Yorkshire County Council says it welcomes a government announcement that an extra £1.6billion is to be allocated to local councils with the rapidly accelerating cost of fighting covid-19.

The council said its estimated costs for coronavirus showed that finances would be £65m worse than had been anticipated before the pandemic. Whilst £15m had been provided by government as additional grant, it left a shortfall of £50m.

The Leader of the county council, Carl Les said:

“We don’t yet know the size of this additional allocation for the County Council but this extra funding will undoubtedly help to bridge the gap. Nevertheless, we still face massive financial challenges and we estimated that the original allocation of £15m of grant for Covid-19 needed to be quadrupled to deal with the estimated costs.”

As well as financial strains,  the council has found it difficult to source a reliable supply of PPE.  The Stray Ferret has reported its appeal to schools and business to help and how care workers in the Harrogate district are feeling frightened and vulnerable.

Long Term Funding Gaps

Well before the crisis, the county council said,  there were real financial strains on the long term funding of adult social care and special educational needs. In a statement it said:

North Yorkshire’s financial planning has been dependent on nearly £62 million of temporary funding after the Council lost around £136 million in direct grants from government since 2011 when austerity began.

Together with the overall savings North Yorkshire has had to deliver and the rise in demand the council’s spending power has been reduced by 40 per cent.

Cllr Les said the whole council was pulling together to do everything it could during the crisis and called on the government for  “long -term partnership” through the crisis.

This column is written for The Stray Ferret by Neil Renton, the Head Teacher of Harrogate Grammar School: 

The world has changed; the equilibrium has been disrupted. Within a period of three weeks we have effectively shut down our school and we are trying to see around all the different bends ahead of us and somewhere in the distance is a new equilibrium.

During the February break, I received a number of calls from a member of staff who was leading our ski trip to Northern Italy. A student had broken his wrist in a fall and we discussed how we would get him home as we felt he should be with his family and receive treatment from the NHS. The week after, our work on Coronavirus began as we received news of lockdowns, category 1 and 2 areas in Northern Italy. Some individuals who had been on the ski trip self-isolated, but we kept school open and we started to communicate about the virus, and stress the importance of washing hands. Things developed at a pace in the wider world and we then cancelled an exchange trip to Germany. Within a couple of weeks, we had reduced the number of year groups in school due to staff absence. Then, the Prime Minister announced that schools would close. As a result, our school population of over 2000 children and 300 staff on site was reduced to 15 students per day and a similar number of staff. We said our rushed goodbyes to Year 11 and Year 13. The rest of our school population were told to teach, learn and work from home.

            You are constantly learning when you lead an organisation and in my first year of Headship, I wasn’t expecting this. In the space of a short period of time, we have not only created a mini-school within our school for the children of key workers and vulnerable children, but also shifted all working practices online. This includes teaching and learning, line management, briefings and training. In the background, we have studied the financial impact, studied guidance on how students will be given centre assessed grades without sitting exams, set up systems to support families with free school meals and created new safeguarding policies for new ways of working. We have done this whilst staying positive, standing tall, but remembering to keep two metres apart. Leading in a period of rapid change, not surprisingly, creates new challenges and many unintended consequences.

            Many of those unintended consequences involve stories of acts of kindness and stories of resilience. One of our Sixth Form students left flowers on his neighbours’ doorsteps; my colleagues in the Design Faculty have pulled together, developing a prototype visor using the laser printer, before manufacturing 1000 visors, in a week, to help support with personal protective equipment for health professionals. I also like the story of one of our youngest students who gets dressed in their uniform every day so that they can keep a routine when they learn at home. I have a real sense of pride in how our whole community has responded to the many challenges that we have faced. These acts of kindness and the resilience of our community show real strength in a period when everyone is adapting in a moving equilibrium.

Our online routines start again this week, but I really hope we can return, safe and well, to school soon.

A schoolgirl from Harrogate who began a fundraising challenge today has already raised more than double her initial target.

Emily Caffrey, aged six, who has cerebral palsy and a brain malformation after being born prematurely, uses a walker and splints to get about.

She has decided to walk ten miles over the next week in support of NHS Charities Together. Her inspiration came from Captain Tom Moore, the Keighley veteran who has so far raised more than £24m by walking the length of his garden every day.

Mum Hannah said: “She watched him on the news. My husband is ex-military – he’s been out less than a year – and she said ‘that’s like Daddy’.

“The gentleman uses a walker, although it’s slightly different to hers, so she asked if she could raise money by walking too.”

Emily’s parents set a modest target of £500 in her online fundraiser to ensure it was achievable for her. Within 24 hours, however, having completed just one day of walking, her fundraising page had already surpassed £1,000.

“I think we’re going to have to raise the target,” said Hannah. “We were umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to split it and add another charity, because of how much she’s raised.

“I know the NHS Charities Together are doing quite well, so I think we’re going to consider another local charity, because they’re really struggling.”

Emily is using her walker to complete a mile or more each day

Emily’s daily walks consist of at least a mile on the streets around her house in Harrogate, accompanied by her parents and three-year-old sister, Molly. The daily challenge will run until Emily’s birthday on Saturday, April 25th, with her mum posting updates to her Facebook page.

Missing her friends and teachers at Hookstone Chase Primary School, Emily’s route passes her best friend’s house where she’s often cheered on. As well as fresh air and exercise, the challenge gives her a new focus, after her planned birthday party at Mama Doreen’s in Harrogate had to be cancelled.

“This is the first year she’s realised it’s her birthday and it’s coming up,” said Hannah. “She doesn’t understand why she can’t see her friends – she just doesn’t get it.

“So this is something that’s keeping her occupied. Walking for an hour is a massive thing for her.”

This column is written for The Stray Ferret by Bob Kennedy, Chair of the Harrogate BID (Business Improvement District) which aims to promote the town centre.  Mr Kennedy is the owner of G23 and Porters menswear stores in Harrogate. 

Where do we go from here?  This is the question on many retailers’ minds up and down the country. I’m an independent retailer with two shops in Harrogate and one in Ilkley. We have been trading our G23 and Porters stores in Harrogate since 1993 and so whilst I can only guess at the situation for the major national chains, I do believe I understand the independents problems and particularly in my home town of Harrogate.

Retail has been a struggle for many in Harrogate over the last few years. We can clearly see this with the likes of H&M, Topshop, Cath Kidson, Gap and now Jack Wills all deciding to leave, but what is causing this downturn in Harrogate’s fortunes?

There are many reasons nationally why high streets are struggling and these debates seem to go on and on with little being done to make the changes needed.

Some blame greedy landlords and this might have been the case in the past but in my experience landlords seem willing to talk now and are willing to negotiate new rental terms.

Then there’s the internet. We all know how easy it is particularly at Christmas to sit at home and order online but this is a big reason for the decline in footfall. If we want to have a lovely town centre we need to support the shops in the town centre. Ilkley is a great example of locals supporting the town.

Next up is car parking. Whether it’s expensive to park or not, car parking seems to be a real issue. People hate paying to park. They hate having to look at their watch and dash off before they get a ticket. As a retailer, it always amazes me that there are so many traffic wardens constantly patrolling Harrogate and so few police. It’s no wonder people choose to visit a retail park with free parking or shop online.

Lastly, retailers have been faced with crazy business rates over the last few years. The amount of money we have been paying the government / local authority over the last few years has been extortionate. I personally pay around £50’000 a year and in return receive nothing, they don’t even empty the bins!

So, how are the retailers of Harrogate going to fair after lockdown?

There’s no doubt that some will fold, collapse into administration before lockdown lifts but my worry is the six months after lockdown. Many will be able to survive during lockdown, after all, the landlords seem to be holding off and trying to share the burden, business rates have been cancelled until April 2021 and the government is giving 80% support to cover wages for staff on furlough. Suppliers to shops like mine are being fair, not pushing for payment and trying to find ways to support.

No, I think we will be fine for a few months of lockdown. The problem comes when we reopen.

Let’s hope that we eventually begin to see a decline in coronavirus and we can reopen our stores at the end of May.  It’s at this point we may have some problems.  Although restrictions will have been somewhat lifted, social distancing will still be advised and people will be wary of catching the virus. This will mean that footfall in shops will be severely down. Maybe only thirty to forty percent of the usual footfall pre coronavirus, but it’ll mean there’s much less money going through the tills. We’ll be open again so the patient suppliers will want paying for all their summer stock but we’ve not had a chance to sell it and they will want to deliver the Autumn ranges. The landlords will want paying, after all, you’re open, you’re trading. Lastly, your staff will be back at work and therefore there is no more support from the government to cover wages. All of this for possibly six months, with a reduced footfall of possibly thirty to forty percent. For many stores across the country this will not add up.

Support for the high street and your town centre has never been needed more. Organisations like the Harrogate BID are working hard to try and make Harrogate a great place to visit this Autumn but support from government, Harrogate Borough Council and the people of Harrogate is also needed. Without this we could see a very different looking Harrogate next year.

As the UK lockdown is extended for a minimum of three more weeks, the work of volunteers continue to provide a vital service for those who are self-isolating.

From mobile post offices to weekly care packages, volunteers from across the borough are going the extra mile to help those who need it.

People have raised nearly £4,500 to pay towards the funeral of a nurse who died with coronavirus after treating patients at Harrogate District Hospital.

Zauma Ekoli, who was 55 and had five children, died on Monday at Leeds General Infirmary after working on a coronavirus wards in Harrogate.

Now 250 people have raised £4,410 out of £8,000 at the time of publication on a Facebook fundraiser to pay for the nurse’s funeral.

Several also left touching tributes on the page calling Josie a “kind and caring person with a heart of gold.”

Emma Macpherson added: “Nothing was ever too much trouble for her and she touched the hearts of everybody that she worked with. We will all miss her so so much. Fly high with the angels.”

Tessya Tsaty Mabiala said: “Please donate to this cause for this wonderful woman. She was a strong, caring and kind-hearted soul who always found the best in everyone. She died trying to save others from this merciless virus.”

Zauma Ekoli was 55 and had five children.

Daughter Naomie said her mother called the provisions of personal protective equipment (PPE) available “poor” but said her mother continued to work in the job that “meant everything to her”.

The hospital said it has sufficient supplies of PPE and that they are getting regular deliveries.

The tulips are blooming in Harrogate’s town centre. The council’s planting team have done a fabulous job.

There was a huge show of support for carers at Harrogate District Hospital. The police and fire service turned up to make some noise.

Harrogate’s cherry blossoms are now out in full force on the Stray.