Harrogate couple launch oxygen for India appeal

Harrogate couple Kate and Paul Banerjee have launched an appeal to buy oxygen equipment for covid patients in India with breathing difficulties.

Money raised will go to the British Asian Trust, a charity founded by the Prince Charles and British Asian business leaders in 2007 to tackle poverty and injustice in the poorest parts of Asia.

The trust is working with the Swasth Foundation in India, a non-profit healthcare provider, to source medical equipment that is in desperately short supply in the covid-hit country.

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The couple set an £8,300 fundraising target — enough to buy 10 oxygen concentrators.

Since it launched on Monday, the appeal has so far generated £4,995, which is about 60% of the target.

Ms Banerjee said:

“It all started because I know that there’s a lot of people who want to help but don’t know how to do it in a way that will get the money to the people that need it.

“We raised over £10 a minute in the first five hours — it shows the big heart that Harrogate has.”

The couple are not resting on their laurels: they plan to print leaflets and go door-to-door in the next week to raise awareness.

Ms Banerjee said:

“The fundraiser is open-ended. If we reach the target, we’ll see if we can increase it and keep moving. They haven’t reached the peak yet in India and I’m afraid things are going to get worse before they get better.”

The daily number of covid cases of covid in India approached 400,000 this week, amid widespread reports of oxygen shortages.

The oxygen concentrators which the appeal will provide extract oxygen from the air, and are therefore independent of oxygen supplies.

Just three covid cases recorded in Harrogate district

Just three covid cases have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of infections since last March to 7,688.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been recorded at Harrogate District Hospital.

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According to NHS England data, the hospital has now gone more than three weeks without a death.

The last reported at the hospital was on April 11. It means the death toll remains at 179.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 19 infections per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 26 and the England rate is 22.

Harrogate district covid rate drops to lowest in North Yorkshire

The Harrogate district’s seven-day covid rate has dropped to the lowest in North Yorkshire.

Latest figures from North Yorkshire County Council show that the district’s average currently stands at 15 per 100,000 people.

It is the lowest of the seven districts in the county. The next highest is Hambleton on 16.

Elsewhere, the North Yorkshire rate stands at 31 and the England average is 23.

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Meanwhile, six further covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of infections to 7,674.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

NHS England figures show the last death was recorded on April 11.

The death toll as the hospital remains at 179.

No covid marshals in Harrogate district

Harrogate Borough Council has not employed any covid marshals and does not intend to do so — unlike many other local authorities.

Local authorities were awarded £30m by the national government in October for covid compliance and enforcement.

Harrogate Borough Council’s share was £58,000.

The government said one of the purposes of the funding was to recruit covid marshals, who do not have any enforcement powers but are there to “engage, explain and encourage best practice and national covid secure guidance”.

However the funding could also be spent on other covid measures.

Nearby local authorities in Leeds, York, Scarborough, Ryedale, Richmondshire and Selby have all employed marshals, who take to the streets wearing brightly coloured high-vis vests or jackets.

But none have appeared on Harrogate district streets.

A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:

“We believe the most effective use of resource was to fund our specialist covid enforcement work, which included weekend joint patrols with North Yorkshire Police to provide advice and guidance.”

The spokesperson added it had no plans to recruit marshals in the future.

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The Daily Mail reported yesterday several councils in England are in the process of recruiting more covid marshals who are expected to take to the streets after lockdown measures end on June 21.

Hertfordshire County Council plans to recruit 60 marshals to ‘provide practical support to aid and encourage compliance’.

 

Exclusive: No more first vaccines in Harrogate district until June, leaked letter reveals

People hoping to receive a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the Harrogate district may have to wait until June, a letter leaked to the Stray Ferret has revealed.

The Harrogate district had made good progress with the vaccination programme. According to the latest NHS England figures, more than 95,000 jabs have been given.

But as the national rollout focuses on people aged just over 40, it seems the NHS has cut vaccine supply to the Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System, which oversees the vaccine programme in the Harrogate district.

A letter signed by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, and Beverley Geary, chief nurse at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and leaked to the Stray Ferret, revealed the supply problem. The letter says:

“We were informed earlier this week that there would be no first dose vaccination supply for the ICS until June.

“The situation is still developing and there may be some Pfizer vaccine available earlier in May. This is a huge disappointment to everyone who has worked on the vaccination programme in the ICS.

“We know you will all be concerned about the impact of this national supply issue on your own ability to continue to deliver the programme, the impact on patients as well as the reputational risk.”

The letter, dated April 22, was sent to senior health officials in the region as well as large scale vaccination sites and community pharmacies.

It says Humber, Coast and Vale ICS is “extremely concerned about the proposed national campaign for the vaccination programme due to start next week”, when the focus is likely to be on over 40s.

“We have expressed our surprise at such a disjointed approach at the national level and the impact that this will have on local areas managing patient expectations.”

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The pharmacy-run vaccination centres in Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge have not held a vaccine clinic since April 17 and because of supply problems do not have a date for the next one.

Since it opened at the beginning of the month, the Pateley Bridge centre has only been able to give 400 coronavirus jabs.

Samin Khan, who runs Pateley Bridge Pharmacy, told the Stray Ferret:

“We have only managed to hand out 400 vaccines since opening because we have not been given any coronavirus vaccines.

“Other places are getting a supply. The NHS is sending people out to York and Leeds when they want to get a jab in their local area.

“It seems like because the Harrogate district has done so well with the coronavirus vaccines that we have been penalised.”

Ms Bloor told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing today that first dose supply was “getting low.” She added:

“I think it is fair to say that throughout the vaccination programme there have been peaks and troughs in vaccine supply.

“It is a bit lumpy, some weeks we get more and some weeks we get less. At the moment, we are getting slightly less in terms of first doses than we have been previously.

“But, actually, what that means is we can really focus on getting people through for second doses because we have got that guaranteed second dose supply.

“We are also assured that we will still be on track to deliver first doses to all of those aged over 18 by July 31 in line with the government guidance.”

Ripon taxi driver ‘dumbfounded’ by lack of mask-wearing in cabs

A taxi driver from Ripon has pleaded with customers to wear facemasks and protect drivers from covid as too many passengers are ignoring the rules.

Richard Fieldman, who has been a cabbie in Ripon for 28 years, said the last 12 months had been “absolutely horrendous” for the trade.

After not working since New Year’s Eve, the owner of A1 Cars recently began taking passengers again.

However, he told the Stray Ferret he’s been disappointed by the number of people who either don’t get in his taxi with a mask, or don’t wear one properly.

Taxi passengers must wear face coverings unless they have an exemption.

Mr Fieldman said:

“You ask them to put their masks on when they get in the taxi, but they pull it down as soon as the car sets off.”

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Mr Fieldman said he was “dumbfounded” by customers claiming they forgot their masks, adding that he believed many people didn’t think being in a taxi posed the same risk as being in a shop.

He estimated that seven out of 10 passengers wore masks, and the large minority that didn’t included many older people. He said:

“They’re just as bad. You can’t blame it on young people flouting the rules.”

He added:

“I had two lads get in with masks last week. The next minute I look in the mirror they’re chomping on sandwiches.

“People think with covid it’s game over, but it’s not.”

Tesco Express in Harrogate gets lowest mark in council covid checks

A Tesco Express in Harrogate received the lowest mark of all supermarkets in the district when unannounced covid checks were carried out.

More than 230 supermarkets and shops were assessed in a joint operation between North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council.

Trading standards and environmental health officers checked whether they had made their premises covid-secure and followed regulations.

Premises were graded using a traffic light system, with green lights given to the most compliant and red lights to businesses where a number of issues were flagged up.

All supermarkets received either green or amber lights, with the exception of Tesco Express on Knaresborough Road.

The inspector who visited that store on February 8 noted “poor and infrequent cleaning”, “lack of cleaning products for the in-store Costa Coffee” and “cashier not wearing mask but was advised she was exempt”. Another comment said:

“Felt I was being given lip service.”

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A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“With regards to the Tesco on Knaresborough Road; a follow up visit was undertaken, the site had followed up on the issues raised and it was found to be compliant and following government guidance.

“No further action was necessary and we were satisfied with the measures that had been put in place.”

A Tesco spokesman said:

“We are following government guidance in stores to ensure that all our colleagues are wearing face coverings, unless they cannot do so for medical or safety reasons.”

Information released after FoI request

North Yorkshire County Council issued a press release in February about the visit but initially refused to reveal details of individual inspections.

However, after a request made under the Freedom of Information Act by the Stray Ferret it did release its findings.

The Stray Ferret’s investigation focused solely on supermarkets.

Louise Wallace, North Yorkshire’s director of public health, said in the press release:

“Many supermarkets and other essential retailers have made huge efforts during the whole of lockdown to make their shops covid-secure.

“Across the whole county we have found breaches by only a handful of retailers.

“North Yorkshire’s shoppers can have real confidence that the vast majority of retail premises are covid-safe in our county, that they carry out proper cleaning procedures and that regulations about the wearing of face masks, hand sanitising and keeping a social distance are properly applied and patrolled.”

Checks were carried out in December and January.

 

Three covid cases recorded in Harrogate district

Three covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases since last March to 7,647.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has fallen to 14 per 100,000 people.

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The North Yorkshire average is 28 and the England rate stands at 25.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

Latest NHS England figures show the last covid death at the hospital was recorded on April 11.

The death toll at the hospital remains at 179 since the start of the pandemic.

Just one covid case confirmed in Harrogate district

Just one covid case has been confirmed in the Harrogate district in the past 24 hours, according to Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases since last March to 7,644.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has dropped to 19 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average stands at 28 and the England rate is 24.

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No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

It means the death toll at the hospital since the start of the pandemic remains at 179.

The more recent covid-linked death at the hospital was reported on April 11, according to NHS England figures.

Harrogate hospital completes second jabs for frontline staff

Today is the last day of second vaccine appointments for frontline healthcare and social worker staff at Harrogate District Hospital.

Meanwhile, Public Health England has announced that only one more case of covid has been confirmed in the district, taking the total since the start of the pandemic to 7,643.

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The district’s seven-day rate has declined slightly to 20.5. This is lower than the Yorkshire and the England rate, which both stand at 23.9.

No more deaths were reported in the district today.

The covid death toll at the hospital is therefore still at 179 in total.