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18
Nov 2020
Last Updated: 19/11/2020
Ripon coronavirus testing site being considered
Ripon has some of the lowest rates of covid infections in the Harrogate district. The news comes amid further signs of a slowdown in the spread of the virus in the Harrogate district.
Coronavirus testing site on Dragon Road, Harrogate.
A coronavirus testing site in Ripon could open in an effort to expand capacity.
Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, said at a press briefing today the authority was “scoping” a mobile site in the city from next week.
However, no further details have been revealed.
Ripon has some of the lowest rates of covid infections in the Harrogate district.
Today's press briefing also revealed the full-time Harrogate testing site on Dragon Road is averaging 180 tests per day - well below its capacity of 320.
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A further 50 cases of coronavirus were confirmed today in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England.
The figure takes the total number of cases up to 3,254.
There are further encouraging signs that the spread of the virus is slowing.
The seven-day average rate of infections for the district has fallen to 241 per 100,000 people, down from 307 last week.
It means the district has fallen from having the second highest rate in the county to the fourth highest behind Selby, Craven and Scarborough.
The R number has also gone down from 1.6 to 1.2.
Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, told today's press briefing of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, a partnership of emergency agencies, that consensus was needed over future restrictions.
He said the tier one measures, which were in place in the county until the second lockdown, did not give people “a sense of seriousness about the situation”.
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