North Yorkshire’s leading public health experts have cautioned against hopes the county could be downgraded to tier one before Christmas.
The government is due to review the tier system next week.
North Yorkshire, which is in tier two, has a seven-day average infection rate of 103 people per 100,000. This is considerably below the England average of 151.
The Harrogate district’s average is even lower at 93. It fell sharply in the second half of November but has stabilised lately.
Some local areas have seen virtually no infections for weeks but pubs and restaurants have stayed shut because of the tier restrictions.
Read more:
- Leeds nearest hospital to get first vaccines
- Harrogate charity prepare to transport people to covid vaccinations
- NHS worker becomes first to receive covid vaccine in Leeds
This morning Richard Webb, director of adult care at North Yorkshire County Council, told a media briefing of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which represents key groups in the fight against covid, that case figures were “relatively stable”.
But he said they were still higher than he would like and the county needed to continue to get them down.
Mr Webb said:
“I suspect we may well see caution prevail just simply because everyone is worried about a spike in the New Year.
“But, let’s see. It is all to play for.”
Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sergeant, director of public health at the council, said he hoped the county will be downgraded after Christmas.
He added the county needed to get infections down.
Dr Sergeant said:
“It’s important for us to keep the momentum going. I think we can aim for getting to tier one, it’s certainly within possibility if we keep momentum going and if we keep working together.
“But we should not be disappointed if that doesn’t happen before Christmas.”
The briefing also revealed seven sites across North Yorkshire are expected to start offering the coronavirus vaccine from next week.
North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, the body which buys medical services in the county, said it will reveal the location of the sites once they are finalised.
