Harrogate district covid rate rises to 158 per 100,000

The Harrogate district’s covid infection rate has risen to 157.9 per 100,000 people, it was revealed today.

The rate, which is based on a seven-day rolling average, is for the week to October 15.

It is marginally higher than the district’s seven-day rolling rate of 154 per 100,000 in the seven days to October 10.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health at North Yorkshire County Council, gave the figure at a meeting of the North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board.

It means the district has the second highest rate of the seven district council areas in North Yorkshire behind Selby, where the rate is 160. Scarborough has the lowest rate at 90.

The figure for Greater Manchester is 432.5.

Another 28 further coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours, according to Public Health England.

It takes the total amount of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,720.

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Dr Sargeant said last week the main cause of spread of infection in the county was between households.

He added there had been “very, very few” infections spread between customers in pubs and hospitality.

Another 39 covid cases in Harrogate district

A further 39 people have tested positive for covid-19 in the Harrogate district since yesterday.

It brings the total number of cases with positive tests in the district to 1,637 since the start of the outbreak.

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this week the government would consider a district-by-district approach to its new tier system.

Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the main cause of spread of coronavirus in the county was between households.

He said he supported the new tier system as it would help to tackle the spread in the county.

Covid infections rise sharply in Harrogate district

A further 58 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, the highest daily increase in over a week.

It takes the total number of cases since the pandemic started to 1,558, according to Public Health England figures.

The figure is the highest daily increase since October 5 when 67 cases were confirmed. However, this was put down to an IT error which left thousands of cases across England unreported.

The number of deaths in care homes from coronavirus in the district has also increased. 

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According to Office for National Statistics data, one death was recorded in the week to October 10 taking the total to 112.

However, no covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital since September 29.

Harrogate has the highest rate of infections in the seven districts in North Yorkshire.

Latest weekly figures showed 154 cases per 100,000 people in the district. This compares with 151 in Selby, 147 in Craven and 138 in Hambleton. Richmondshire recorded 104, Scarborough had 94 and Ryedale 89.

Building work on a new full-time covid testing site in Harrogate, in the Dragon Road car park, began today. It is due to open next week.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this week the government would consider a district-by-district approach to its new tier system.

Meanwhile, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the main cause of spread of coronavirus in the county was between households.

He said he supported the new tier system as it would help to tackle the spread in the county.

Dr Sargeant added that there were “very few instances” of infection in hospitality.

Harrogate covid group ‘still here to help’, says co-founder

A Harrogate social media group which gained thousands of followers at the start of lockdown “is still here for people”, says its co-founder.

Covid Co-Operation, a Facebook group founded in March, has more than 10,000 members helping to support people in the district throughout the crisis.

When it was set up, the group focused mainly on those who were vulnerable and needed to self-isolate by giving advice and support.

It also raised thousands of pounds for local charities as part of a crowdfunding appeal, with causes such as Harrogate Foodbank, IDAS and Hear to Help among those to benefit.

Now, nearly seven months into the pandemic, Susie Little, co-founder of the group, has said the group is operating differently.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“In hindsight, when you look back there was a significant amount of panic.

“I think it was a different level of panic, people did not really know what to do or where to turn.

“People were going into isolation and had not thought about how they were going to do their shopping.”

Susie says the group changed when restrictions relaxed over summer.

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Most posts are now about the daily figures and keeping people informed of the situation in the district.

Susie said:

“I’m starting to use the group as a means of getting figures over every day because the government stopped doing the daily conferences.

“I do get the feeling that people value the fact that any information that we have on our group is verified.”

Currently, Harrogate has the highest weekly case rate in the county with 116 per 100,000 people up to October 10.

But North Yorkshire has been placed in the lowest category in the government’s tier system this week, which means no additional restrictions will be imposed.

For Susie, the pandemic has been the most “significant event for a generation” and she says the group will continue to be there for people who need help or support as the crisis develops.

“We are still here, people should not hesitate to ask for help if they need it.”

New Harrogate site will test 300 people a day

Harrogate’s new covid testing site will have the capacity to test up to 320 people a day, officials revealed today.

The full-time site in the Dragon Road car park is set to open next week and will operate seven days a week from 8am until 8pm.

Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today the site will have the capacity to test eight people at once.

She added the site would be able to conduct between 280 and 320 tests per day.

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People will be able to turn up on foot, unlike at the mobile testing centres. However, tests must still be booked in advance.

The forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackle the pandemic, successfully made the case for permanent testing sites in Harrogate and Scarborough to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Stray Ferret asked the DHSC how much the site cost to build but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Latest Public Health England figures show a further 27 cases were confirmed in the Harrogate district in the last 24 hours. It takes the total amount of cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,500.

A total of 137 cases were confirmed across North Yorkshire today.

The Harrogate district has the highest weekly case rate of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire, with 116 per 100,000 people up to October 10.

North Yorkshire was placed in the lowest category of the government’s new three tier local lockdown system this week.

Wedding venue transforms into ski lodge to save staff

A luxury Harrogate wedding venue is transforming into a ski lodge restaurant to keep staff in work this winter.

Current covid restrictions limit weddings to a maximum of 15 guests.

This has had a huge impact on venues like Wharfedale Grange, near Harewood, which is able to seat 270 wedding guests and can cater for 165 people in its restaurant.

It hopes that by adapting the use of its barn it will be able to retain staff, especially with the furlough scheme ending this month.

Claire Thomas, managing director of Wharfedale Grange, said:

“We’ve got 18 full-time staff and 12 part-time staff so we’re effectively keeping 30 people in work by converting to a restaurant and not making them redundant.”

Described as ‘La Folie Douce meets Yorkshire’, the restaurant — called Apres Bar & Grill — will incorporate elements of ski lodge resorts.

It is due to open from November 1 to the end of March.

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‘Very few’ covid infections in North Yorkshire pubs

Pubs and restaurants have been responsible for hardly any covid outbreaks in North Yorkshire, according to the county’s public health director.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant said there had been “very few instances” of coronavirus spreading between customers in the hospitality sector.

He also said schools and workplaces had been responsible for few transmissions. The main source of spread, he said, was households.

Speaking today at a press briefing of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackle emergencies, Dr Sargeant said:

“We have had very, very few instances of pubs where there has been outbreaks and spread to customers. It has largely been staff members that we have picked up.

“The predominant spread in North Yorkshire is between households.

“Our school heads and the teams supporting them have done a brilliant job of keeping schools safe from spread of covid. We are in contact with our care homes on a daily basis.”

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Harrogate has the highest weekly rate of infection of the seven districts in North Yorkshire, with 116 cases per 100,000 people. It also has the highest cumulative number of cases, which stands at 1,473, mainly because of its size.

Dr Sargeant said this could partly be due to the district’s high number of care homes.

North Yorkshire is currently classed in the lowest of the three tiers that were introduced this week, which means it continues to follow only national measures, such as the rule of six and 10pm curfew.

But neighbouring West Yorkshire is in the second tier, which bans different households mixing and socialising indoors.

This has led to fears some people may decide to cross the border into North Yorkshire if pub closures are imposed in West Yorkshire.

Superintendent Mike Walker, gold command for North Yorkshire Police’s response to covid, said the force would be prepared to police those coming into the county.

He said:

“We will just have to see what the impact is of other areas being in the higher tiers and what impact it will have on us.

“It is the minority who decide to throw caution to the wind and breach those restrictions. Absolutely, we will be ready to deal with those individuals.”

Some northern mayors, such as Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, have criticised the government for a lack of consultation.

But Richard Webb, director of adult care at the county council, said it had been well consulted by the UK government:

“We are in constant conversation with different arms of government and there is no one single point of government.

“I can only speak from our own experience. We have been involved in discussions all along the way and that feels quite productive and helpful. We are in a national emergency so things will move at quite a quick pace and in that situation you can’t necessarily consult with everyone.”

North Yorkshire districts could be placed in different covid tiers

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the government is prepared to consider district rather than county-wide covid tiers in North Yorkshire in response to variable transmission rates.

This would mean some parts of the county could be placed in a higher category — and be subject to greater restrictions — than others.

The Harrogate district currently has the highest infection rate of the seven district council areas in North Yorkshire.

York, which is a unitary authority, does however have a higher rate than Harrogate.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Thirsk and Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake asked Mr Hancock:

“The rate of transmission varies significantly within the eight different districts of North Yorkshire.

“When we are looking at putting different areas into different tiers, can we look at that by district rather than at county level?”

Mr Hancock replied:

“Yes, absolutely, and I will go further than that: we look at this at sub-district level, if that is appropriate.”

He said this had already happened in High Peak, Derbyshire, where some areas are in level 2 and others are in level 1.

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Mr Hancock added, however, that it was not purely down to transmission rates:

“Some districts within North Yorkshire have individual outbreaks in individual institutions that we are managing, and we should not mistake that for general community transmission and therefore put those areas into a higher level than is necessary.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new tier system on Monday, which placed all of North Yorkshire in tier 1, which is the lowest category.

37 further coronavirus cases in Harrogate district

A further 37 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases in the district since the start of the pandemic to 1,473.

Meanwhile, 147 cases have been confirmed across North Yorkshire. The weekly rate for the county stands at 106 per 100,000 people, according to NHS Digital.

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The Harrogate district now has the highest weekly case rate in North Yorkshire, with 116 per 100,000 people in the week to October 10.

Yesterday, the district and wider county was placed under the lowest category of the government’s new three tier lockdown system.

It means the district continues to follow national restrictions, including the rule of six and 10pm curfew, but  no additional measures have been imposed.

Hampsthwaite coffee shop to reopen after covid deep clean

A coffee shop in Hampsthwaite will reopen this weekend after being forced to close due to covid.

Sophie’s Coffee Shop and Bistro closed on Sunday after a relative of a member of staff tested positive for the virus.

But the shop announced on its Facebook page yesterday that all staff concerned had tested negative.

It added that although the results were negative, it had decided to hire a professional deep cleaning team to deep clean the entire inside and outside of the building.

The clean will also include a new marquee, which has been purchased to allow more space for customers. The cafe had to halve its capacity to follow social distancing rules and said the marquee would allow it to seat more customers safely.

Sophie Jacob, owner of the shop, said:

“We’re excited to reopen, we have taken all the necessary precautions. On Wednesday a cleaning company will come and spray the marquee and inside to disinfect the premises. We chose to do this.

“This week we’re setting up the new marquee. We had people waiting in their cars sometimes to come in so we wanted to set this up to have more space.”

The team is hopeful that its measures will ensure customers feel confident to return this weekend.