Harrogate District Hospital has reported two more coronavirus deaths, taking its total number up to 66.

The hospital had not recorded any deaths for six days in a row until the NHS released today’s figures.

It comes as hospitals in England report a further 143 deaths, taking the country’s total up to 26,865.

Read more on this story

• The hospital had not reported any deaths for six days in a row
• Hear Harrogate Mayoress’ tribute to the carers who saved her life

Patients were aged between 36 and 100 years old. Eight of the 143 patients, aged between 48 and 91, had no known underlying health conditions.

On Thursday last week, the hospital reported a total of 109 patients had recovered from coronavirus and been discharged.

Harrogate’s care homes have now reported more coronavirus deaths than the hospital.

Up to May 22, care homes have recorded 72 coronavirus deaths. It’s an increase of 12 deaths from the previous week’s figures in care homes compared to an increase of four deaths in the hospital.

Harrogate District Hospital has just gone six days without reporting any new coronavirus deaths until today’s NHS figures.

Read more on this story

• What is the picture of coronavirus deaths in Harrogate’s hospital?
• Watch how Harrogate thanked its carers during the coronavirus lockdown

Up to June 2, the hospital has reported 66 deaths. So, even with the lag in data of ten days, care homes have reported more deaths.

What is being done to help care homes?

North Yorkshire County Council recently said it was stepping up its support to care homes for the 235 care homes in its area.

The council will support struggling care homes with staffing, PPE, infection control, safe hospital discharge, and more.

Children’s nurseries across the Harrogate district reopened on Monday, with new arrangements in place to ensure the safety of children, parents and staff.

Busy Bees, which has four nurseries in Harrogate and one in Ripon, confirmed that all five opened yesterday, with health and safety plans in place that address the issues raised by Covid-19.

While there was no playdough, sandpits, or water games, staff were on hand to provide outdoor play in smaller groups, with no floor markings for children’s play areas or timed toilet breaks.

A spokesperson for Busy Bees, said children were not required to play in hoops, as some schools suggested may be required and pointed out that instead:

“The focus was on dividing children into close friendship groups, limiting the number of people children come into contact with, reducing the space that they can explore and increasing the time spent outdoors.”

The safety arrangements involve temperature checks for all children and staff on arrival and throughout the day; two metres social distancing for family members at drop off and pickup times, frequent hand-washing and disinfecting of communal areas.

At all times, the aim of the nursery’s staff is to keep life as close to normal as possible for children; give cuddles if they become upset during the day and to only wear face masks for temperature checks.

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The nursery, which has kept more than 100 of its centres open throughout the  coronavirus crisis to support key worker families and vulnerable children, has looked to its colleagues in Australia, North America and in particular south-east Asia for learning, and is confident its measures protect families in its care.

Emily Brimson-Keight, head of safety at Busy Bees, said:

“We are constantly sharing ideas and looking at best practice to ensure the personal and emotional wellbeing for children and team members.”

Primark’s Harrogate store is set to reopen on June 15 after more than 10 weeks of closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The company is among the first non-essential chain outlets to announce it will reopen a week on Monday as lockdown measures are eased.

Bosses at the company announced that it is working to reopen all 153 stores across England with extensive social distancing measures in place. Under government guidelines, non-essential retail stores, such as clothes shops and electronic outlets, will be able to reopen from June 15.

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Social distancing measures will include limited customers in store, hand sanitiser for shoppers and Perspex screens at tills to protect staff. Every second till in stores will be closed and face masks and gloves will be made available to Primark employees.

Paul Marchant, chief executive at Primark, said the company wanted to ensure that stores were safe for both staff and customers:

“We know that life for our customers is going to look different for a while. We want our stores to be safe and reassuring places to shop and work. While it might take a little longer to get into our stores, once inside, customers will find all their favourite Primark products and we have worked hard to make sure that clear signage and extra help will be there to guide them through the changes we have made to allow for social distancing. 

“We will adopt all government safety advice as a minimum in our stores and have benefited from our experience in the other markets in Europe where we have already opened successfully. As we open, we will continue to look at best practice across the retail sector and amend our measures appropriately. 

“I would like to thank all of our colleagues and partners for the commitment, strength and resilience they have shown through these challenging times.” 

Car showrooms on St James Retail Park, Knaresborough have opened hoping for customers to return.

One-way systems, heat cameras to record customers’ temperatures and sanitising kits are just a few of the ways car showrooms in the Harrogate district are ensuring customer safety.

The Toyota showroom in Knaresborough are scheduling customers on an appointment-only basis. They are using clear floor markings and a one-way system to comply with social distancing.

Steve Rowbothan, the Centre Principal for the showroom, said:

“We sanitise any cars before we get in them, and then following the service we re-sanitise thoroughly to ensure a contactless transaction. Our priority is safety and to make sure the customers feel safe when they’re here with us.”

A heat camera will check customers’ temperatures

Read More:

• Harrogate’s new posters for social distancing as shops prepare to open
• District’s hotels warn of “carnage” in hospitality sector

Another Knaresborough dealership, Redline Specialist cars, opened their doors for the public using a heat detection camera.

The camera can monitor the customers’ temperature as they stand in front of it. The screen will flash green if the person has a safe temperature but if it is above 38 degrees it will turn red.

It’s been a very tough few months for the car industry. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a 99.9% decline in the production of engines for domestic markets in April compared with the previous year.

John Graeme, one of the directors, though, is optimistic:

“I think this will be a really positive year for the used car industry, due to the demand. I think we’ll be one of the lucky sectors. We have been planning for this day for six weeks in order to follow all the guidelines as you’ve still got to make sure the customer is comfortable.

For the sixth day in a row, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported a coronavirus death.

It is a positive story for the hospital, where 64 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have died so far.

Meanwhile across England’s hospitals, a further 108 people have died, bringing the total number up to 26,722.

Read more on this story

• Watch how Harrogate thanked its carers during the coronavirus lockdown
• Hear Harrogate Mayoress’ tribute to the carers who saved her life

Patients were aged between 29 and 99 years old. 16 of the 108 patients, who were aged between 48 and 94, had no known underlying health conditions.

On Thursday last week, the hospital reported a total of 109 patients had recovered from coronavirus and been discharged.

For the fifth consecutive day there have been no reported deaths at Harrogate District Hospital of patients who tested positive for covid-19. A total of 64 patients have died at the hospital of the virus since the start of the pandemic.

A further 85 people, who tested positive for the coronavirus have died- 25 in Yorkshire and the North East. The total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England is 26,614.

Patients were aged between 56 and 100 years old.  Six of the 85 patients had no known underlying health condition.

WATCH:  A moving video of the 10 weeks of Clap for our Carers in the Harrogate District .

On Thursday the hospital reported a total of 109 patients, who tested positive for coronavirus, had recovered and been discharged – an increase of five on the previous week.

Large groups of young people have gathered on the Stray in the hot weather – breaking existing lockdown restrictions and new the rules that are due come into force.

From Monday, people can meet in groups of up to 6 people in outdoor spaces like parks or private gardens – as long as they remain two metres apart.

The Stray Ferret witnessed many groups of up to 11 young people on the Stray yesterday evening and today who were lying or sitting close together.  There was no police presence at the time these pictures were taken.

North Yorkshire Police have said their officers would be out and about today and

“continue to engage with members of the public, explain the regulations and encourage people to adhere to them, using enforcement as a last resort”.

What’s your experience of being out in the sunshine today? Have you felt people are abiding by the lockdown rules and staying 2m apart? Get in touch: contact@thestrayferret.co.uk  or follow us and comment on social media @TheStrayFerret

For the fourth consecutive day there have been no reported deaths at Harrogate District Hospital of patients who tested positive for covid-19. A total of 64 patients have died at the hospital of the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Across England a further 146 people, who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 26,529.

Patients were aged between 46 and 97 years old.  Six of the 146 patients had no known underlying health condition.

WATCH:  A moving video of the 10 weeks of Clap for our Carers in the Harrogate District .

On Thursday the hospital reported a total of 109 patients, who tested positive for coronavirus, had recovered and been discharged – an increase of five on the previous week.

After 10 weeks of community spirit and support, The Stray Ferret has reflected on the appreciation shown from people all over the borough.

Every Thursday at 8 pm for the past 10 weeks the sound of clapping, cheering and wooden spoons hitting saucepan lids has filled the streets of the district as we celebrated those working on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the founder of the ‘clap for carers’  has now said this is a good time for the clapping to end.

Steve Russell, the Chief Executive of Harrogate Hospital was outside the hospital for the official final clap.

Although the official clap marks its end, I think we all know that the communities across Harrogate will carry on clapping inside for weeks months and years to come… I am incredibly proud of my team here and really grateful to everyone that has shown so much support.