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16
Dec 2020
Last Updated: 16/12/2020
North Yorkshire schools told to not close early for Christmas
Nineteen schools in the county are currently partially closed to year groups or bubbles. The news comes as the Harrogate district recorded 36 new coronavirus infections today — the highest figure since November 23.
Schools in North Yorkshire have been told to not close early for Christmas, despite fears over the potential spread of coronavirus.
Two schools approached North Yorkshire County Council requesting early closure but their bids were rejected.
Most schools in the county will close on Friday, although 45 will finish a day earlier so they can hold a teacher training day.
Amanda Newbold, assistant director for education and skills at NYCC, said at a coronavirus press briefing today:
"We had two schools discussing whether they would close prior to this date. We have discouraged them from doing so.
"They should only close because of close contacts and isolation reasons so we are really pleased that the majority are staying open."
Read more:
- Harrogate district vaccine sites shrouded in secrecy
- North Yorkshire GPs begin delivering covid vaccine
School attendance in the county is currently at about 89%. This figure has remained consistent over the last couple of weeks.
The briefing also revealed 19 schools are partially closed to year groups or bubbles.
It also emerged there are 184 patients in hospitals in North Yorkshire, with 22 of them in Harrogate.
While the county-wide bed numbers are 17 lower than this time last week, there was an increase of 10 patients yesterday.
The Harrogate district recorded a further 36 coronavirus cases today, the highest figure since November 23 when there were 37 cases.
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