Harrogate District Hospital currently has no patients with covid for the first time in nine months.
At the peak of the second wave in mid-February there were 68 covid patients at the hospital.
Now, the hospital has recorded zero covid inpatients – the first time since August 28.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust tweeted its praise to colleagues for their “immense efforts” over the past year.
It also thanked the local community for doing their bit to suppress the virus.
“And thank you to our local communities for following guidance, making sacrifices, being understanding and doing your bit. Especially if you’ve had the vaccine. Please, keep following the guidance and remain vigilant.”
For the first day since 28 August 2020, we have zero inpatients with Covid-19 in Harrogate District Hospital!
Thank you to our hospital-based colleagues for their immense efforts throughout the past year and a bit. An incredible effort. pic.twitter.com/F2J8cUTLE1
— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) May 24, 2021
There has not been a covid death at the hospital now for six weeks. 179 people who tested positive for covid have died at the hospital since the pandemic began.
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Boroughbridge travel agent reports ‘handful’ of holiday bookings
The ease in travel restrictions does not go far enough to reboot the industry, a local travel agent has claimed.
Last Monday, eager holidaymakers were finally allowed to get on a plane after the ban on non-essential overseas travel was loosened.
But for Peter Cookson, group managing director at Spear Travels, Boroughbridge, the green list was “a bit of a joke”.
Current rules have placed 12 countries including Portugal, Iceland and Gibraltar on the green list, meaning travellers are required to take covid tests before they leave and before they return to the UK and again within two days of their arrival, but do not need to quarantine.
A further 173 countries are on the amber list, which has tighter restrictions. Travellers to these destinations must take an additional covid test on day eight after they arrive back and isolate at home for for 10 days.
Spear Travels, in Boroughbridge, has not seen a boom in 2021 bookings
For the travel industry to truly get back on its feet, Mr Cookson said the restrictions have to change as the expense of covid testing is discouraging people booking trips.
He has confidence that “pent-up demand” exists but has only received a “handful” of bookings for Portugal and none for amber-list countries.
Mr Cookson expects this low level of interest to continue while strict measures to prevent the spread of covid are in place. and said people are already re-booking their holidays for next year.
He said
“I think the main thing putting people off are the covid tests, for a family of four it could be around £500. The green list is a bit of a joke, people don’t want to spend that extra money.
“Until we get other countries like Spain, Italy and Greece on the green list, bookings will be slow. We’ve only had a handful of holidays to Portugal.”
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- Knaresborough businesses call for social distancing cones to be removed
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Looking forward he is hopeful for a return to pre-covid levels but said this might not be until 2023.
For now he said his team is focusing on re-booking people’s holidays for later dates and crossing their fingers for changes to the rules.
Spear Travels runs 12 shops across the country, which have reduced their opening hours to keep staff on furlough while bookings remain low.
Have you booked a holiday to an amber-listed country? Tell us about your holiday plans via contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Four covid cases reported in Harrogate districtFour positive cases of covid have been reported in the Harrogate district.
According to latest Public Health England figures, the total number of infections since last March stands at 7,737.
The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results. However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.
Read more:
- Total vaccine doses in Harrogate district near 170,000
- Police: ‘Avoid contact’ after Indian variant found in North Yorkshire
- Public Health England monitoring covid variant reported in Yorkshire
Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 11 per 100,000 people.
In North Yorkshire, the average is 13 and the England rate is 22.
Stray Views: Noisy cars are a blight on Harrogate lifeStray Views is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. See below for details on how to contribute.
Time for a Harrogate museum?
Having read some articles by Harrogate historian Malcolm Neeson, recently published by the Stray Ferret, I was reflecting on how many historical exhibits there must be in and around Harrogate, which are in storage possibly.
As the town centre is now changing following the pandemic, there are lots of empty properties available.
Could now be the time for Harrogate to celebrate its history by creating a museum? This might complement the excellent Royal Pump Room Museum and enhance the historic walks in Harrogate in the future.
Jane Malster, Harrogate
Vaccinated people should not have to pay for covid tests when we go abroad
I can not get my head around the fact we have had second covid injections but when we go on holiday we have to pay for a test.
We have to pay nearly £100 to test before we go into a country and the same amount again when we come back. Now we have had second injections we still have to wear masks and test. It’s puzzling a lot of people. I thought the vaccine would be the end of it.
If it isn’t, why put everyone through the injection? Fully vaccinated people should not have to pay to do a test. It’s wrong and costs a lot of money, especially if there are a few adults in the family.
Diana Pollitt, Harrogate
Noisy car exhausts blight Harrogate life
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- Film about the Troubles to premiere in Harrogate next week
- Businesses warn £7.9m Station Gateway project could be ‘hugely damaging’
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.
One covid case reported in Harrogate district
Just one positive case of covid have been reported in the Harrogate district.
According to latest Public Health England figures, the total number of infections since last March stands at 7,733.
Yesterday, the government has changed the way it records daily cases of coronavirus in England.
The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results. However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.
Meanwhile, no further deaths form patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
Read more:
- Total vaccine doses in Harrogate district near 170,000
- Police: ‘Avoid contact’ after Indian variant found in North Yorkshire
- Public Health England monitoring covid variant reported in Yorkshire
The death toll at the hospital remains at 179 since last March.
The last reported covid death at the hospital was on April 11.
Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 12 per 100,000 people.
In North Yorkshire, the average is 13 and the England rate is 22.
Three covid cases reported in Harrogate districtThree positive cases of covid have been reported in the Harrogate district.
According to Public Health England figures, the total number of infections since last March stands at 7,732.
As of today, the Government has changed the way it records daily cases of coronavirus in England.
The daily number of cases reported is based on PCR and lateral flow tests returning positive results. However, if someone with a positive lateral flow test later has a negative result with a PCR test, the earlier result will be removed.
Read more:
- Harrogate and Ripon vaccine centres to close in August
- Public Health England monitoring covid variant reported in Yorkshire
Public Health England said on its website:
“The way cases are reported in England has changed. Reported cases are sometimes removed if subsequent tests are negative.
“This happens when cases identified through a positive rapid lateral flow test are followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests within three days that are all negative. These cases are now being removed daily.”
Meanwhile, no further deaths form patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
The death toll at the hospital remains at 179 since last March.
The last reported covid death at the hospital was on April 11.
Public Health England monitoring covid variant reported in YorkshirePublic Health England is monitoring a new variant of covid that has been reported in Yorkshire.
The VUI-21MAY-01 strain has so far had 49 positive cases confirmed, most of them within the Yorkshire and Humber region, and PHE has been monitoring it since April.
PHE said on its website that it had increased testing and that there was “no evidence” that it rendered vaccines less effective.
The government agency said:
“There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective.
“PHE is carrying out increased laboratory testing to better understand the impact of the mutations on the behaviour of the virus.”
It added:
“All appropriate public health interventions are being undertaken, including additional contact tracing and targeted testing.
“Where cases have been identified, additional follow-up of cases, testing of contacts and targeted case finding will limit the spread of variants.”
Read more:
- Harrogate and Ripon vaccine centres to close in August
- Police: ‘Avoid contact’ after Indian variant found in North Yorkshire
It comes as public health bosses in North Yorkshire confirmed that cases of the B16172 variant, the so-called Indian variant, had been identified in the county.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the county was still “well prepared” to deal with any variants of concern and that the advice to residents remained the same.
She said:
County council’s trading company records £639,000 loss“There have been a small number of cases of the Indian variant identified across North Yorkshire.
“As the public would expect, national Test and Trace and Public Health England have been working together to identify and follow up the cases and their contacts to minimise the risk of spread.
“Our public health advice remains the same whatever the variant of covid – continue with the basics of hands, face, space and fresh air, and meet people outside rather than inside as much as possible.”
North Yorkshire County Council’s trading arm, The Brierley Group, recorded a loss of £639,000 last year.
The council has created numerous companies to generate funding for frontline services.
The authority’s leader and deputy leader, Councillors Carl Les and Gareth Dadd, defended the strategy ahead of the council’s first meeting to discuss the group’s performance during the first year of the pandemic.
An officers’ report to the meeting said the ventures, to which the council has committed to loaning some £54 million at preferential rates, had seen a continued “mixed performance” from the previous year.
Provisional figures show the group, which includes education and business services, housebuilding, internet, legal and waste enterprises, delivered a loss after tax for the 2020/21 financial year of £639,000.
The report stated the total revenue generated of £59.9 million was under budget by £4.8 million.
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Officers said North Yorkshire Education Services faced unique challenges throughout the year, and that the pandemic had an adverse impact on the school catering business due to school closures.
While First North Law’s trading in the first half of the year resulted in a £14,000 underperformance, officers said broadband provider NYnet experienced some challenging trading conditions throughout 2020-21, particularly with regard to new customer sales.
The report states waste management company Yorwaste performed well during the last quarter despite trading continuing to be difficult and the business services Veritau group exceeded its budgeted profit for the year.
Cllr Les said:
“The pandemic has had an impact across not only the council, but the council-owned companies and we are looking at the business plan for the future post-pandemic.”
He said he was optimistic about the firms staging a recovery this year, providing covid variants did not have a major impact on the county.
Cllr Dadd, who is also the council’s finance executive member, said he was proud of what the authority had achieved with its commercialisation agenda.
He said:
“It’s been done in a cautious manner, but nonetheless has provided and post-pandemic will provide vital resources to the county council’s budget on behalf of the taxpayer.
“We are not risking millions and millions like other authorities, which are buying shopping centres. We are taking a cautious, level-headed, reasonable approach to this and any extra funds goes into support services, especially for vulnerable people, and that’s why we’re keen to pursue it.”
He added the authority had a better chance of getting a variety of work done than many if not all other councils because it was the firms’ shareholders, so they had to perform for the authority.
Cllr Dadd said:
Just one covid case reported in Harrogate district“Their focus is entirely on service delivery to make profit or reach what the residents of North Yorkshire expect. It’s had a positive effect on service delivery.”
Just one covid case has been recorded in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.
No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to NHS England figures.
The last covid death was confirmed in on April 11.
Read more:
It means the covid death toll at the hospital remains at 179.
Meanwhile, latest vaccination figures show 103,456 people in the district have received a first dose of a covid vaccine.
A total of 63,624 have had a second vaccine so far.
Elsewhere, the district’s seven-day covid rate has dropped to 13 infections per 100,000 people.
The North Yorkshire average is 15 and the England rate stands at 20.
West Park car park to host Harrogate covid testingHarrogate’s permanent coronavirus testing centre off Dragon Road will close this weekend and be replaced by a mobile unit in West Park car park.
In a sign that the emergency response to the pandemic is being scaled back, the permanent site in the Dragon Road car park near Asda will close on Sunday
The mobile units at the West Park car park will open several days a week although precise details are not yet known.
Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday, Matthew Robinson, head of resilience and emergencies at North Yorkshire County Council, said the move to mobile units was being done so tests could target hotspot areas.
He said:
“The advantages of mobile testing sites is that we can flex and strengthen as we go. We will make sure that if covid cases are increasing in a particular area we will continue to provide more frequent testing in that location.”
It was announced in March that the Dragon Road site would close due to the car park being needed by Harrogate Convention Centre, but health officials have now decided a permanent replacement site will not be needed.
The site on Dragon Road.
Officials are instead urging residents to use the mobile sites, online ordering and local pharmacies where testing has become more widely available.
Read more:
The closure of the site follows an announcement that the vaccination centres at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate and Ripon racecourse will also close in August – with local pharmacy sites set to play a larger part in the rollout.
Dr Ian Dilley, GP partner at East Parade Surgery in Harrogate and clinical director of the Mowbray Square Primary Care Network, said in a statement on Tuesday:
“With the huge number of people now vaccinated in the local area, we feel August is an appropriate end date.
“We need to be mindful of the other pressures that will be placed on doctors’ surgeries as we head towards autumn and winter, and the annual flu vaccine campaigns that GP practices need to provide.
“We also need to enable our kind hosts at the Yorkshire Events Centre and Ripon racecourse to provide their own events as restrictions continue to be eased and more public events are permitted.”
There are two types of coronavirus tests: rapid tests, known as lateral flow tests, and PCR tests, which are sent to labs for analysis.
Mr Robinson said anyone with symptoms should get a PCR test – and not a lateral flow test – because they are more accurate and can also better detect variants of concern.
He said:
“Now that lateral flows are more readily available it is easy to think you can just do one, especially if you have got them laying around your house, but the national testing policy is very clear and it is a PCR test that is needed for anyone with symptoms.
“The PCRs miss fewer positive cases and they can help us identify strains of variants as well which is really important at the moment.”
For more information on testing go to www.northyorks.gov.uk/book-coronavirus-covid-19-test-if-youve-got-symptoms