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09
Nov 2020
Last Updated: 09/11/2020
Covid R number rises to 1.6 in Harrogate district
Worrying new figures suggest the Harrogate district is struggling to contain the virus, with Harrogate east, Killinghall and Hampsthwaite and Harrogate west and Pannal all in the county's covid hotspots.
Coronavirus testing centre at Dragon Road car park in Harrogate.
The rate of covid infections in the Harrogate district is rising sharply and is now well above the national average.
The R number, which refers to the reproduction rate, was 1.4 last week and is 1.6 today. This means every 10 people that test positive in the district will infect another 16.
The latest R number for the UK is 1.1 to 1.3.
The seven-day rolling average rate of infection for the Harrogate district was 160 cases per 100,000 people two weeks ago; last week it was 251 and today it is 279.
The England average is 241.
Read more:
- Harrogate hospital coping well with covid, says chief executive
- Record daily number of covid infections in Harrogate district
North Yorkshire as a whole appears to be struggling. Four of the county's seven district and borough council areas — Scarborough, Harrogate, Selby and Hambleton — now have higher rates of infection than the England average.
For many months North Yorkshire fared better than many parts of the country.
Although widely accepted that lockdown will take time to bring down infections, these are worrying figures for county health officials.
Local covid hotspots
The Harrogate district accounts for three of the top 10 covid hotspots in North Yorkshire, according to a breakdown of positive test results in the last seven days by local community area.
Harrogate east is third on the list with 42 infections, one place ahead of Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, which has 41. Harrogate west and Pannal is eighth with 36.
Catterick Garrison and Colburn in Richmondshire tops the list with 52.
The only local area in the bottom 10 is Pateley Bridge and Nidd Valley, which has recorded just seven positive tests.
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