People are being urged to take measures to avoid covid after the rate of infection tripled in the Harrogate district this month.
The covid rate had been decreasing across North Yorkshire since the end of March. But the trend has reversed in recent weeks due to a more transmissible variant of Omicron.
At the end of May, the district’s rate of infection was 55 people per 100,000. It is now 172.
Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, said:
“Cases of covid are once again rising across the UK, including in North Yorkshire.
“The latest increase is being driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron, which has also caused high rates in other countries across the world.
“There is evidence that BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible than previous variants, and there is limited protection from infection with previous variants against BA.4 and BA.5.”
Dr Turner said getting vaccinated, meeting outdoors or in well-ventilated areas indoors, wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces, and good hand and respiratory hygiene would reduce the risk of transmission.
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She also advised people with covid symptoms to try to stay at home for five days following the day of their positive result.
Free covid testing is no longer available for most people, but tests can be bought from pharmacies. Dr Turner said:
“It is still best to try to avoid covid infection wherever possible, or minimise the number of times you have it.
“Even if you do not develop severe symptoms from the initial infection you are still at risk of developing long covid, which can be debilitating.
“You are also at increased risk from cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes in the days and weeks following covid infection.”
Sue Peckitt, NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group chief nurse and director of nursing and quality, added:
“There are still a significant number of people in our hospitals who have covid and it’s a stark reminder that coronavirus hasn’t gone away. This virus is still causing some people to become very unwell.”
