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Aug 2020

Last Updated: 10/08/2020

County 'way off' lockdown but 'stay vigilant', says public health director

by Calvin Robinson

| 11 Aug, 2020

As rates of coronavirus cases remain low compared to other areas, North Yorkshire's director of public health has called for people to remain vigilant.

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North Yorkshire’s director of public health has called for people to remain vigilant despite the county being “way off” a local lockdown.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant said the average number of cases of coronavirus in the county remains low, with areas like Harrogate averaging around 10 cases per week.

Currently, 736 cases have tested positive in the district, with 2,601 in the wider county according to Public Health England figures.

But recent local lockdowns in Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale have raised concern that similar measures could be taken in the county

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A local lockdown was imposed in parts of West Yorkshire following fears of a second spike in coronavirus infections. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the prevalence of the virus was “likely to be rising” in England.

But Dr Sargeant said the county is “way off” the rate of cases compared with areas on the government’s watchlist, such as Barnsley. The rate of cases in North Yorkshire is currently at around 420 per 100,000 people, but the South Yorkshire town is nearly double that at 821.

However, Dr Sargeant told the Stray Ferret that people should remain vigilant despite the low number of cases. He said:

“We have to be vigilant because things can change rapidly and it does not take much to import cases from areas like West Yorkshire.

“A lot of this is in people's control and the virus itself has not really changed. The same things we need to battle it has not changed.”

It comes after, last week, figures from Public Health England showed an increase of six cases in the Spofforth, Burn Bridge and Huby area.

But Dr Sargeant said an increase in testing and the council’s track and trace system has led to the authority tackling cases early.

For him, the method of tackling the virus locally was to test aggressively and investigate further.

Dr Sargeant added that knowing who you are spending time with was a good way of avoiding the virus. He said:

“If you can confidently recount who your contacts are then that is a good start. I would not be confident if you did not know who they were.”

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County 'way off' lockdown but 'stay vigilant', says public health director

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