Grayson Perry was due to perform at Harrogate Convention Centre this weekend but has had to cancel his show after testing positive for covid.

The artist, writer and broadcaster told his followers on Saturday he had tested positive for covid. However, it was only today that his show in Harrogate on Saturday, November 27 was cancelled.

The Harrogate Theatre tweeted about the event today. It said:

“Unfortunately, due to Grayson Perry testing positive for covid, the performance on Saturday November 27 has had to be postponed.

“Ticket holders will be contacted directly with further information. We apologise for the late notice and any inconvenience this may cause.”

It is unclear when the performance will be rescheduled to, ticket holders should receive further information on an email.

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A total of four shows have been cancelled including last weekend’s performances at Buxton Opera House and Royal Albert Hall and the upcoming show on Sunday November 28 at Kendal Leisure Centre.

The show, ‘Grayson Perry: A Show for Normal People’, was described as an evening of “worthiness and silliness” with Mr Perry expected to ask big questions around the meaning of life and why it all matters.

The Harrogate district has reported a further 149 covid cases, according to today’s government figures.

The district’s covid rate has risen to 534 infections per 100,000 people, which is the second highest in North Yorkshire.

Across the county, the average stands at 497 and the England rate is 389.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

Since March 2020, 197 people have died with covid at the hospital.

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Meanwhile, the number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital remains stable with 22 currently receiving treatment – a slight fall from 25 this time last week.

The news comes as it was revealed that hundreds of Harrogate District Hospital staff have yet to be vaccinated against covid.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid last week announced he expected to set a deadline for all unvaccinated workers to get both jabs by the beginning of April in a move which he said would help protect patients and the NHS as a whole.

Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has increased, as a further 134 covid cases were confirmed today.

Latest data shows that the rate has risen to 515 infections per 100,000 people, which is the second highest in North Yorkshire.

Across the county, the average stands at 481 and the England rate is 382.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

Since March 2020, 197 people have died with covid at the hospital.

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Meanwhile, the number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital remains stable with 22 currently receiving treatment – a slight fall from 25 this time last week.

The Harrogate district has reported 120 cases of covid, according to Public Health England figures.

The district’s 7-day average case rate is 453 per 100,000 people, which is the third-highest rate in North Yorkshire.

Across the county, the average rate is 417 and the England average is 341.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

Since the pandemic began 197 people have died with covid at the hospital.

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On Friday the gravity of the staffing crisis in social care was underlined as North Yorkshire County Council launched its biggest ever recruitment drive for the sector.

The number of people applying for social care jobs has plummeted, partly due to the introduction of mandatory vaccines for care staff.

The Harrogate district has reported 118 cases of covid, according to Public Health England figures.

The district’s 7 day average case rate is 451 per 100,000 people, which is the third-highest rate in North Yorkshire.

Across the county, the average rate is 413 and the England average is 339.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.

However, two further covid deaths were reported on November 3 and 6. It brings the total since the pandemic began to 197.

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The number of covid deaths at Harrogate District Hospital is approaching the 200 mark as health chiefs look to speed up vaccinations ahead of winter.

The hospital’s toll since the pandemic began currently stands at 195, with the latest death of a patient who died within 28 days of testing positive being reported on Wednesday last week.

However, the number of covid patients receiving treatment at the hospital has fallen slightly from 25 to 24 in the last seven days.

The Harrogate district’s seven-day infection rate has also fallen, from 591 per 100,000 people to 548 today. It remains the highest in North Yorkshire.

It is also above both the county and England averages of 470 and 372 respectively.

Long trips for booster jabs

Booster vaccines are being made available for over 50s and any over 16s with a health condition that puts them at high risk of covid.

The NHS has shortened the length of time between second and third doses – and those eligible can now get vaccinated simply by turning up at a walk-in site.

However, these sites are currently limited in Harrogate with patients being asked to travel to Pateley Bridge or outside of the district as far as Bradford or Batley.

The NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group last week said it was unable to open any more walk-in sites in the area as “all clinics are running at capacity” and that it would do so “as soon as possible”.

A CCG spokesperson said:

“If we open walk-ins now it is likely we would exceed our vaccine allocation and there would be some disappointed people and negative feedback which we are trying to avoid.”

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Appointment-based vaccines are still available to book at local clinics via the national booking system, which also has dedicated slots for 12 to 15-year-olds available at the Homecare Pharmacy site in Knaresborough.

There was an aim to complete the rollout of vaccines to this age group by the start of half-term, however, progress has been slow with less than 20% in the Harrogate district receiving their single dose.

These jabs are being made available at schools but also at other sites including Askham Bar in York, Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, the Northern Echo Arena in Darlington and Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.

It was recently announced that Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground will reopen as a vaccine centre for an expected busy period of booster jabs in December.
The venue closed for vaccinations in August but will reopen for two weeks at the start of next month.

There have been 559 excess deaths in North Yorkshire during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures have revealed.

Excess deaths are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected when compared to previous years and can be used to show the overall impact of the pandemic.

Figures presented to a meeting of North Yorkshire’s Outbreak Management Advisory Board showed 11,347 deaths from all causes were expected during the weeks of the pandemic based on the five-year average.

A total of 11,906 deaths from all causes were recorded up until 1 October – giving an excess of 559.

Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told today’s meeting that these figures were “largely reflective of the national position”. She said:

“The largest peaks of excess deaths, unsurprisingly, were during covid’s first and second wave.

“This was followed by periods where deaths were actually a bit below the expected number, however, those periods were not enough to offset the very high numbers of excess deaths that we saw during both wave one and two.”

According to Public Health England figures, there have been a total of 1,227 deaths in North Yorkshire where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

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The recent rate of Covid deaths and hospital admissions has increased slightly since the end of summer, however, the figures are lower than previous waves.

20 patients still in intensive care

Despite this, Sue Peckitt, chief nurse at NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said the heath service was still facing “unprecedented” demand with 171 Covid patients currently in the county’s hospitals.

She told today’s meeting that the majority of these patients were over-65 and that 20 were in intensive care:

“We continue to see high demand into our primary and emergency care departments.

“Whilst we are seeing high numbers of Covid infections in our younger population, it is the older population that is presenting into hospital.”

Ms Peckitt also said the vaccine rollout was continuing with a focus on booster jabs for over 50s and increasing uptake for 12 to 15-year-olds who will be offered their single dose by the end of November. She added:

“The schools programme for 12 to 15-year-olds is now rolling out through our provider Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, but we have also opened up three sites on the national booking system.

“These are the pharmacy site at Knaresborough, the Askham Bar site at York and the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.”

The Harrogate district has creeped back up to the third highest covid rate in North Yorkshire.

It comes as the area records another 198 coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

That takes the seven-day coronavirus rate for the district up to 524 per 100,000, which is only lower than Craven and Ryedale in North Yorkshire respectively.

North Yorkshire’s average is 504 per 100,000 and England’s is 438.

Although daily cases remain relatively high, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further covid patient deaths today. It reamins at 93 covid deaths in total.

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The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of Monday.

It was also announced this week that 12-15 year olds can now book their covid vaccines appointments.

As of today, a total of 130,616 first doses have been delivered and 122,087 second doses of the vaccine. No figures are currently available for boosters.

The Harrogate district has recorded another 144 coronavirus cases today, according to the latest Public Health England figures.

Although daily cases remain high, Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any further covid patient deaths.

The seven-day rate for the Harrogate district is now 517 per 100,000 people, which is much lower than the peak of 740 on October 16. However, the rate of decline has slowed in recent days.

The district now has the fourth highest rate in North Yorkshire, below Craven, Ryedale and Selby.

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North Yorkshire’s average is 503 per 100,000 and England’s is 450.

The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of Monday.

It was also announced this week that 12-15 year olds can now book their covid vaccines appointments.

The government’s coronavirus dashboard had not updated the vaccine figures for the Harrogate district today at the time of going to press.

A further 111 covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district as the seven-day covid rate continues to fall.

The rate has dropped to 517 per 100,000 people – yesterday it was 573.

It is now the third highest rate in North Yorkshire, below Craven and Ryedale.

North Yorkshire’s average is 503 per 100,000 and England’s is 450.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

The hospital was treating 19 covid patients as of Monday.

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Furthermore, 12-15 year olds can now book their covid vaccines appointments.

As of today, a total of 130,659 first doses have been delivered and 122,031 second doses of the vaccine.