Covid cases fall in Harrogate district after yesterday’s daily record surge

A total of 404 infections have been recorded in the Harrogate district today — down on yesterday’s daily record figure of 493.

However, the district’s seven-day average rate of infection has risen from 1,139 and now stands at 1,329 per 100,000 people.

North Yorkshire’s rate is 1,269 and the England rate is 1,508.

Harrogate West and Pannal Ash remains the worst hit area, with 163 cases in the last seven days.

The number of people who have received a third or booster vaccine in the district stands at 101.983. A total of 364,100 vaccines have been administered.

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Harrogate district records a further 133 covid cases

The Harrogate district has recorded another 133 positive covid cases in the past 24 hours according to data from Public Health England.

Harrogate’s coronavirus infection rate has fallen below the North Yorkshire average for the first time in almost three months.

The district’s weekly rate per 100,000 people currently stands at 548.4 – just below the North Yorkshire figure of 551.6 (latest data up to November 19).  Before this, the last time Harrogate’s rate was below the county’s was on 27 August.

Selby has the highest infection rate in North Yorkshire at 637.8 cases per 100,000 people.

There have been no new recorded deaths of patients who tested positive for covid at Harrogate District Hospital.

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The total number of people in the district who have tested positive for covid since the pandemic began now stands at 23, 456.

It comes as everyone in England aged over 40 can now book booster vaccines from today.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds initially offered a single dose can now also book their second after a recommendation from the government’s scientific advisers who concluded it was safe and effective.

The vaccinations can be booked online, or by calling 119.

However, there are still no walk-in sites available in the Harrogate district after local health officials earlier this month said they were working to do so “as soon as possible”.

 

 

Year of rapid growth as Stray Ferret marks first birthday

The Stray Ferret today marks its first anniversary, celebrating rapid growth in the last 12 months.

The website launched earlier than planned to cover the covid crisis as it unfolded last March, in the weeks before the first lockdown began.

In the last year, we have published more than 3,000 stories, had more than five million page views and attracted 12,000 social media followers.

The site has focused on delivering valuable news for the community during the pandemic, from keeping track of the daily covid figures to telling the stories of those doing their best to keep everyone smiling in the toughest of times, such as last year’s VE Day celebrations. Free jobs listings for the district and an index of businesses have also been added as we play our part in helping the local economy to survive.

After one of the most difficult years anyone in the Harrogate district can remember, we will also be ensuring those who have been lost in the last year are not forgotten. Our series of tributes to lost loved ones begins next week.

Meanwhile, we have also carried out in-depth investigations into how public money is spent.

We published a series of articles on the decision-making behind Harrogate Borough Council’s move to its new civic centre, showing that the failure to take into account the high value of the land at Knapping Mount when presenting the figures to the public.

We also investigated how the council’s failure to produce an acceptable local plan left the district open to predatory developers seeking opportunities to build homes for profit, rather than to meet local need.

Our journalists have broken exclusive stories, such as the hotelier who held a New Year’s Eve party in breach of covid lockdown rules and police investigations into allegations of fraud at a company where a Harrogate councillor and MP’s case worker was a “person of significant control”.

We began publishing with a small team of journalists in March 2020. Since then, the news team has grown to seven, along with four commercial staff and a content producer.

Tamsin O’Brien, owner of the Stray Ferret and former head of BBC Yorkshire, said the news team has aimed to cover the issues that people locally care about:

“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our stories, read us and followed us on social media.  We know that there is a real demand for high quality, local digital news content. 

We have really tried to cover every aspect of how covid has impacted lives and investigated the issues that matter to people. We live in a time of great change and people locally want to engage in those issues and have a voice. 

“We are frequently asked to look into matters concerning our readers, demonstrating their trust in us to report it accurately, impartially and fairly.”

Over the coming months, the Stray Ferret will be working with more local businesses to help them reach a large and loyal audience. The aim is for the site to be fully funded through advertising, with a speciality in making video shorts for social media on behalf of local advertisers.

Head of commercial Emma Harris said the next six months will be significant as lockdown measures are eased:  

“Now we have an established quality news platform, we can concentrate on driving the commercial side of the business forward. 

“Times have been difficult for businesses, however, with all legal restrictions set to be lifted in June, I am confident that businesses will want to celebrate what they have to offer and we’re looking forward to partnering with them.”

The Stray Ferret is also committed to developing journalism students and has work placement arrangements in place with Leeds University and Leeds Beckett University. In the past year we’ve had four successful work placements.