Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any more coronavirus deaths and has this week discharged 15 more patients.

In total, the hospital has now released 97 people who have recovered from coronavirus but 54 people have died at the hospital since the start of the pandemic.

Weekly data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also reveals how many people have died outside of hospitals. That number has been rising higher in recent weeks and is close to overtaking Harrogate hospital’s deaths.

This data goes up to May 1 and shows that there have been 48 deaths outside of hospitals. Of those, 43 deaths have been in Harrogate’s care homes, with the others in private homes or “other communal establishments.”

A Liberal Democrat councillor has attacked what he calls “confusing in the extreme” messages from the local and central government on lockdown easing.

People have every right to go out and explore as long as they follow social distancing rules but North Yorkshire County Council is reluctant to welcome visitors.

Boris Johnson said earlier this week that people in England can exercise as many times as they wish and drive to outdoor spaces “as long as they respect social distancing guidance while they are there.”

One of the Liberal Democrat’s councillors at the county council, Geoff Webber, saw the mixed messages and sent the following message to the Chief Executive Richard Flinton:

“This is confusing in the extreme.  The PM has said, on record, that ‘people in England can travel as far as they like to reach outdoor spaces – including beaches and parks for sunbathing and non-team sports.’  I may not agree with the rule but this is what is coming from our Conservative government. This is a Conservative council and if they cannot get their act together with a Conservative national government then it is a very poor show. So much for the special relationship with Tory MPs.”

The conservative run North Yorkshire County Council has, however, warned that it will “monitor the number of pedestrians” and said it “may have to close more roads to protect the public.”

Chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, Richard Flinton, said:

“Please adhere to any ‘no parking’ and ‘road closed’ signs you come across and ask yourself if it’s worth it. Why not do the right thing and protect yourself and your family by staying close to home. Everything will still be here when it’s safe to welcome you back and we are really grateful for your patience and support.”

Many took up the opportunity to explore enthusiastically and by midday yesterday there were already 50 cars parked up on the verges around Swinsty reservoir.

Heavy-duty machinery and plenty of workers are on the Stray as part of drainage and reseeding works to restore the park.

Harrogate Borough Council estimates that the work will cost close to £130,000 and that it will be complete by this September.

Yorkshire 2019, the organisers of the UCI Road World Championships, has agreed to pay £35,500 to help restore the Stray.

However, two local contractors have criticised the council for outsourcing the work to Glendale Services.

A charity has launched a raffle online as part of its fundraising efforts to help staff and patients at Harrogate District Hospital.

The raffle is now live with £2 tickets and all the proceeds going towards funding specialist equipment, training, and improvement of facilities.

Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity is hosting the raffle and will reveal the winners at the start of July.

The charity said that coronavirus is challenging staff but added that they are working “extremely hard during this unprecedented time.”

Here are some of the prizes on offer:

• Two Directors Suite tickets to Leeds Rhinos
• Seven Amazon Fires HD with Alexa
• Neom 3 wick candle
• FAIRFAX & FAVOR Tassels
• Lots of packs of 12 250ml Slingsby solo Gin ready mixed bottles
• A bouquet of Helen James Flowers
• An exquisite unique hand-painted duck egg Birdcage

The top prize is the Leeds Rhino Match Day Experience which includes a pair of tickets as guests of the Leeds Rhinos Directors Club valued at around £400.

Business Development, Charity and Volunteer Manager, Sammy Lambert, said:

“A huge thank you to all the local businesses and individuals who are supporting our online raffle. We are hoping it proves popular and supports our important work raising funds for all the departments and services at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

“By entering our raffle, people are helping us do more for our colleagues, patients and their families during this difficult time. We are extremely grateful to members of the public who have been fundraising for Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity for supporting their local NHS.”

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.”

Harrogate District Hospital has reported that three more people who tested positive for coronavirus have died.

Today’s figures include one death from April 29 and two more deaths from Sunday and Monday this week, bringing the hospital’s total up to 54.

The deaths were recorded with a total of 244 across England’s hospitals. Patients were aged between 49 and 99 years old. Four of the 244 patients, who were aged between 51 and 78 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

It also comes as the government releases a clear picture of confirmed coronavirus cases by lower-tier local authority – narrowing it down to the Harrogate district, rather than the wider numbers for North Yorkshire which were previously available.

According to the data released today, the Harrogate district has had 266 cases. It also includes rates per 100,000 resident population, which provides a comparable figure across the UK.

Harrogate has a rate of 165.7 which is lower than England’s rate of 248.5, Yorkshire and the Humber’s rate of 230.9 as well as North Yorkshire with a rate of 196.4.

Weekly data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also reveals how many people have died outside of hospitals. That number has been rising higher in recent weeks and is close to overtaking Harrogate hospital’s deaths.

This data goes up to May 1 and shows that there have been 48 deaths outside of hospitals. Of those, 43 deaths have been in Harrogate’s care homes, with the others in private homes or “other communal establishments.”

By midday more than 50 cars were parked on the verges around Swinsty reservoir today. It was a similar picture at Thruscross. It’s the first day since the seven week lockdown that people have been allowed to drive to take exercise and many took full advantage of the new rules.

The new guidelines conflict with the wishes of North Yorkshire County Council, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Yorkshire Water which owns the reservoirs and their adjacent car parks. All clearly do not want people to drive out into the countryside at this stage.

Like others the Stray Ferret spoke to at Swinsty today, Rachel Wesson and her son, Rory, had driven up from Leeds to walk their dog.

“We’ve been doing the same walk for a long time now, we live in a built up area and it’s nice to have a proper day out.  We have brought a picnic. When I saw the car park was shut though I did wonder if it was alright to come but I know we are allowed to do this”

Rachel Wesson and her son Rory at a picnic table this lunchtime at Swinsty reservoir

This, though, is the problem for the parish council. Graham Hebblethwaite, the chairman of Washburn Parish Council, says that with car parks shut and people continually arriving, even during lockdown, it has given them a real problem with access and wrecked verges.

Graham Hebblethwaite, chairman of Washburn Parish Council at the top of the lane leading down to Swinsty

He says they now want Yorkshire Water to open the car parks:

“People park on both sides of the road – even across gates. The police have been around many times even during lockdown but nothing seems to happen.  The car parks should have been opened today to stop all the mayhem”.

Fewston Parochial Hall near to the reservoirs where they’ve had to put NO PARKING signs up

The head of Yorkshire Dales National Park has hit out at the Government after it gave people the green light to travel to beauty spots regardless of distance.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that as of today people can exercise as many times as they wish and drive to outdoor spaces “as long as they respect social distancing guidance while they are there.”

That advice does not appear to have gone down well with the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Yorkshire Water, or even the Conservative-run North Yorkshire County Council.

In yesterday’s daily update the council’s chief executive Richard Flinton made it clear that the “county is very much NOT open for visitors yet.”

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back when we are through this – but we are not there by some way yet.  We anticipate some of our beauty spots will be much busier and we will try to alleviate pressure where we can. We also encourage everyone to access open countryside close to their homes rather than head to these hot spots.”

The council warned that access to important hand washing facilities as well as toilets will be limited with most shops and restaurants and car parking remaining closed for the time being.

Yorkshire Water has also told the Stray Ferret that its car parks also remain closed and, despite the government advice, said that people should not travel to its beauty spots.

“Our reservoir car parks are still currently closed while we create a plan to adapt to changes in the government guidelines. Please don’t drive to our reservoirs as the car parks are still closed and inappropriate parking impacts our ability to access the reservoir safely as well as disrupting local residents.”

The chief executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, David Butterworth, has been outspoken about his opposition to the new government guidelines.

He said that he has been, along with other organisations, advocating for a staged approach to avoid unnecessary travel and tension between visitors and local communities.

“However, that message has not prevailed and, as a public body, we are still expected to deliver the government’s message and manage the situation as professionally and sensitively as we can. We will therefore be opening the Authority-run car parks from today and will strive to open toilets as soon as possible; they will be deep cleaned and have new cleaning regimes implemented.”

What has it been like at the district’s beauty spots since the new guidelines? By midday, more than 50 cars were parked on the verges around Swinsty reservoir today. It was a similar picture at Thruscross.

While the world may feel rather dull at the moment, lockdown has at least enabled some people to go green and inject colour into their gardens.

With more time spent at home and a prolonged spell of sunny weather, many people across the district have taken to gardening. With the green light from the government for garden centres to reopen, people can now get their hands on all sorts of horticultural goods.

Megan Peel, co-owner of Kit Peel Gardens in Harrogate, has given some professional advice on things you can buy and grow now to give you lots of pleasure in the garden all summer long:

“If you are new to gardening its tempting to buy the things that look most enticing in the garden centre today rather than those plants which will go on providing you colour and interest all summer long and on into Autumn.”

Grow your own

 If you are planning on growing some of your own fruit and veg this year, don’t be tempted to plant out young veg seedlings too early or they could be killed off by the late frosts we have up here in Yorkshire. Either wait a few weeks to buy or keep on a sunny window .. and gradually harden off outside in the daytime, bringing in at night until planting out when the risk of frost has well and truly passed.

Our top tip is to start by growing what you love to eat, and focus on growing those things which taste better straight from the ground, or which are hard to come by in supermarkets. We grow a lot of courgettes, above all for the flowers – which we love to eat tempura style in a light beer batter, stuffed with ricotta and herbs; peas which the children pick and eat straight from the pod – and we also like to add the shoots to salads; beetroots and salads – which you can sew successionally every two weeks throughout the summer. Peas can also be sewn into June, as can carrots. Aim to have a few trays of young lettuce seedlings waiting in the wings, and you can fill in any gaps of bare earth with a quick ‘catch crop’ while plants around them are maturing – alternate neat lines of red and green lettuces, for an old fashioned potager look, adding rows of winter brassicas, onions and leeks that will mature in the autumn after the leeks after harvested. Growing beans in the same bed will help fix nitrogen in the soil and benefit the brassicas .

If you don’t have the space to set aside for a dedicated veg patch then ornamental brassicas like Kale Lacinato and Red Drumhead cabbages can look eye catching planted in borders amongst your flowers. Edible flowers like nasturtiums; viola heartsease and marigold and cornflower petals can transform a simple summer salad into something special. “

A charity has already raised £10,000 but needs another £3,000 to give the staff at Harrogate District Hospital a place to stay after a busy shift.

The money Friends of Harrogate Hospital has already raised will be able to pay for the basic refitting work of five rooms but it is aiming to take the rooms up to a hotel standard.

Staff may not be able to get home after a long shift so they need to occasionally stay overnight at the hospital but they are not said to be in good shape currently.

Ian Elliot, the treasurer at Friends of Harrogate Hospital, told the Stray Ferret:

“The hospital has some rooms now but they are not in a decent state of repair. We have already raised a substantial amount but this extra money will bring the rooms up to hotel standard. It’s just something we can do to make their lives that bit easier.”

The charity has set up a fundraising page with a £3,000 target. At the time of publication, people have donated just over £50.

Hotels close to the hospital have been providing staff with a place to stay but some others need to be onsite at all times.