Six more cases of covid have been recorded in the Harrogate district, according to the latest Public Health England data.
No more covid-related deaths at Harrogate District Hospital have been recorded, which means it is almost a month since the last one.
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The seven-day average rate of infection in the district is 12 per 100,000 people. A week ago it was 16.
The rate in Harrogate is below both the North Yorkshire and England averages, which stand at 20 and 22 respectively.
The highest rate in North Yorkshire is in Selby district, at 64.
The district’s total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 7,709.
Communities thanked for covid response with commemorative plaquesTwo commemorative plaques are to be installed in Pateley Bridge and Bewerley this summer to thank the communities for their “amazing” response during the pandemic.
Pateley Bridge Town Council and Bewerley Parish Council are installing the markers in their towns as a way to thank and recognise community members who collectively came forward to help out.
The idea has been discussed at a few council meetings in recent months but at Tuesday’s annual council meeting it was agreed to arrange an unveiling for July.
Both councils felt it was important to hold the ceremony once lockdown had eased to allow for a proper celebration of people’s hard work.
One plaque will be placed halfway up Pateley Bridge high street, aside other plaques, and the other on the outer wall of Bewerley youth shelter. They will be funded by the two councils.
Mayor of Pateley Bridge, Mike Holt, said he came up with the idea a few months ago after trying to find a way to recognise various people and companies’ efforts.
He said:
“On the whole, the community came together in a tremendous way. The plaque will be there forever to remind people of the past year. I think it’s important for us to come together and remember the people who came together at the time.”
Further arrangements for July’s unveilings will be announced as covid restrictions ease.
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GP praises vaccine progress but warns against relaxing too soon
A Harrogate GP has praised the progress of the covid vaccination programme, but says it is important people continue to follow government guidance.
Dr Bruce Willoughby has worked as a GP in a number of Harrogate practices and now acts as the GP clinical lead for primary care and population health within NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
As the vaccine programme continues to be extended to younger people and coronavirus cases decrease, Dr Willoughby has said this should not be a sign for people to relax.
The CCG is urging local residents to keep staying two metres apart from people outside their household or bubble and only meet outdoors. It says that social distancing measures such as washing your hands for 20 seconds and wearing a face covering are still vital.
Dr Willoughby said:
“While we are making excellent progress with our vaccination programme, we know that we must remain vigilant to keep the virus at bay in our communities as we continue to protect as many people as possible.
“We know that a vaccine reduces your chance of catching covid by around two thirds. And in addition to all that, you’re up to half as likely to pass it on to somebody else that you live with.
“I know we are looking forward to greater easing in government restrictions but this is no time for complacency, we still need to keep the virus under control, while we take the steps, safely, back to normal life.”
Dr Willoughby also encouraged anyone who has been invited for their vaccine to book an appointment. You can do so here.
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The current phase of the vaccine rollout means anyone aged 40 and over can book in for their jab.
Nearly 100,000 first doses of the covid vaccine have been delivered in the Harrogate district.
Four more covid cases in Harrogate districtFour covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.
It takes the total number of infections since last March to 7,697.
Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 16 per 100,000 people.
The North Yorkshire average is 22 and the England rate is currently 21.
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No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
The last death at the hospital was recorded on April 11, according to NHS England statistics.
It means the death toll at the hospital since the start of the pandemic remains at 179.
Another three covid cases in Harrogate districtAnother three covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district.
According to today’s Public Health England figures, it takes the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 7,691.
No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
Read more:
NHS England figures show that the last death from a patient who tested positive for covid was on April 11.
Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 17 per 100,000 people.
The North Yorkshire average is 23 and the England rate stands at 21.
Just 363 first vaccines in Harrogate district this week as supply dropsJust 363 first doses of a covid vaccine were given in the Harrogate district in the last week, as supply continues to decline.
A total of 95,500 people have had a first vaccine in the district so far, according to latest NHS England figures.
However, the number administered each week has declined throughout April due to a national shortage of supply.
NHS officials wrote to GPs across the country and warned there would be a “significant reduction in weekly supply” from March 29. Our graph illustrates how steeply the decline has been.
Earlier this week, the Stray Ferret revealed that no further first dose supply is expected in the district for a month.
A leaked letter signed by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, and Beverley Geary, chief nurse at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust revealed the supply problem.
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It comes as those aged over-42 have been invited to come forward for a covid vaccine.
A total of 38,115 second doses have been given in the district so far according to the latest figures.
Elsewhere today, a further three covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district.
According to Public Health England, it takes the total number of infections since last March to 7,668.
The district’s seven-day covid rate currently stands at 14 per 100,000 people. The North Yorkshire average is 34 and the England rate currently stands at 23.
No further covid deaths have been confirmed at Harrogate District Hospital.
NHS England statistics show the last death from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus reported at the hospital was on April 11.
The death toll at the hospital remains at 179 since the start of the pandemic.
Three covid cases in Harrogate district todayA further three cases of coronavirus have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s figures from Public Health England.
Cases have remained low in recent days. The total in the district since the start of the pandemic is now 7,654.
The district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen again to 12 per 100,000.
Starbeck has recorded the most infections in the last seven days, with eight.
The North Yorkshire average is now above England’s average – North Yorkshire is 32 and England is 25.
This is mainly because Selby’s rate has exploded to 112.
No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital. The total since the pandemic began stands at 179.
According the NHS England figures, the most recent covid death at the hospital was April 11.
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Harrogate hospital completes second jabs for frontline staff
Today is the last day of second vaccine appointments for frontline healthcare and social worker staff at Harrogate District Hospital.
Meanwhile, Public Health England has announced that only one more case of covid has been confirmed in the district, taking the total since the start of the pandemic to 7,643.
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The district’s seven-day rate has declined slightly to 20.5. This is lower than the Yorkshire and the England rate, which both stand at 23.9.
No more deaths were reported in the district today.
The covid death toll at the hospital is therefore still at 179 in total.
‘We feel like prisoners’: Harrogate care home resident on isolation ruleA Harrogate man who lives in a care home has spoken out against rules telling residents not to go outside and to self isolate for two weeks if they do.
Nick Moxon, 32, has cerebral palsy and is a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s care home on Claro Road. He was shocked, like others in the home, to learn of the new guidance.
Residents like Mr Moxon have the backing of Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Ripon, and Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council. All three have spoken out against the guidance.
While the debate continues, care home residents like Mr Moxon see others enjoying the more relaxed lockdown rules and are left feeling bewildered.
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Mr Moxon, like all residents at his care home, has had both doses of the coronavirus vaccine. He told the Stray Ferret:
“When I first found out what the rules were I shared it with my family and friends, they cannot understand it either.
“If you fly to the UK you just have to isolate for 10 days. If you live in supported living these rules don’t apply. It is crazy. We just want to be treated like everyone else.
“But we are being treated like lesser beings. We are trapped in here like prisoners. Better than most, we understand the risks of coronavirus.
“Before the pandemic we were all extremely sociable. We understood over the last year but now we have had the vaccine and lockdown is easing, we just want to get our lives back.”
The more restrictive guidance for care homes was issued shortly after restrictions eased on the hospitality sector last week and non-essential shops were allowed to reopen.
Ms Snape, who has written to Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones about the issue, previously said:
Harrogate Dragon Road testing site to be replaced with mobile units“For the people that live at 34 Claro Road this is devastating. They are young people who just want to have the same freedoms as everyone else.
“They are seeing pictures of groups enjoying a beer outside the pub and they are being told they can’t even go for a walk around the block.”
Harrogate’s Dragon Road coronavirus testing site is set to be replaced with mobile units after it closes on June 1.
The Dragon Road site is currently used to supply lateral flow tests as well as provide testing.
Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today that people would still be able to get lateral flow tests from 25 pharmacies in the district.
The county council already runs mobile testing sites across North Yorkshire during the week in areas such as Ripon, Scarborough and Selby from 9am until 3pm. Harrogate will adopt a similar approach.
Dr Turner said:
“The current site will close at the beginning of June.
“The plan for this and for any other local test site that need to close is to replace the PCR testing element with mobile testing units, with the pharmacies and online portal providing a really good supply of lateral flow tests.”
Meanwhile, a further two covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.
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It takes the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 7,642.
The district’s seven-day covid rate is currently 24 infections per 100,000 people.
In North Yorkshire the average is 26 and the England rate is 24.
No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England statistics.
The death toll at the hospital remains 179 since last March. Currently, four patients with covid are being treated at the hospital.
In the past week, North Yorkshire Police have issued seven fines for breaches of covid rules.
Four of those fixed penalty notices were handed out in Ripon for indoor gatherings.