Forty-six further cases of coronavirus in Harrogate district

Latest Public Health England figures show a further 46 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the district in the last 24 hours.

It takes the total amount of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 2,765.

Yesterday, the district reported its record daily case increase with 96 positive tests confirmed.

The seven day case rate in the district has increased to 269 per 100,000 people and remains above the national average.

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Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital has reported another death from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus.

The death was reported on November 5 and takes the total amount of deaths up to 89, according to NHS England figures.

Health bosses said yesterday that 24 patients were being treated for coronavirus at the hospital.

Harrogate district set to enter second national lockdown

The Harrogate district will enter lockdown for the second time this year at midnight tonight.

Restaurants, bars, non-essential shops and hotels will close, dealing a huge blow to the hospitality sector, which is a big part of the local economy. When they will re-open is unclear.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced another shutdown to combat rising infection levels and ease pressure on the NHS.

The move has prompted widespread anxiety.

Georgia Eckert, of Imagines Things Bookshop in Harrogate, said the lockdown comes “at the worst possible time” for retail.

Georgia Eckert, of Imagined Things Bookshop in Westminster Arcade, Harrogate.

Her store and other non-essential retailers will have to close with just eight-weeks to go until Christmas.

Meanwhile, despite the furlough scheme being extended until December, the self-employed in the district also have concerns.

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Mr Johnson has insisted stricter measures are necessary.

In the Harrogate district, the weekly covid infection rate stands at 252 per 100,000 people which is above the national average.

While hospitals in other parts of the country have seen increased admissions, Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 15 coronavirus patients.

Public health bosses also announced today the district will gets its own local test and trace system.

The move comes just weeks after the town opened its own permanent coronavirus testing site off Dragon Road.

The government has said the measures will be reviewed in four-weeks time but what seems certain is that lockdown will test the district’s businesses to the limit.

73 new coronavirus cases in Harrogate district as second lockdown looms

The Harrogate district recorded another 73 coronavirus infections today as the country prepares for another lockdown.

The daily figures from Public Health England show cases since the start of the pandemic have now increased to 2,623.

It comes as England prepares to enter a second national lockdown at midnight.

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Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day case rate stands at 252 per 100,000 which is above the national average of 228.

This morning, it was confirmed that Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 15 coronavirus patients.

It was also announced today that the district will be part of a local test and trace system from next week.

It comes amid reports the current national programme for test and trace is only managing to reach about 60% of those who have come into close contact with a positive case.

Care home confusion brings more distress

Local health officials still do not know whether people will be allowed to visit relatives in care homes when lockdown begins tomorrow.

North Yorkshire County Council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.

But there is confusion whether this window of opportunity for visits will prove short lived.

Richard Webb, the county council’s director of health and adult services, said at a press briefing today:

“Our advice still applies as of today but we are promised further government guidance on what will happen with care home visits tomorrow.

“I am assuming there will be restrictions on care home visits. As it stands we are just trying to support families and residents and care home providers.”

Judy Bass, a Harrogate resident, used to see her 99-year-old father with dementia in a care home every day before the first coronavirus lockdown.

Today will be the first time since March that she will be able to see him for a ‘door visit’ after a ‘window visit’ three weeks ago.

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She will wear full PPE to stand at the door of her father’s room. Ms Bass feels the stop-start nature of visiting will confuse her dad:

“I do not want to say that it is all bad because I am actually seeing my dad tonight for the first time in months. The communication has just been poor.

“It seemed that all of a sudden we were allowed to visit care homes and there has been a big rush this week to cram the visits in. But now we have no idea what will happen.”

1,300 coronavirus cases in Harrogate district in October

More than 1,300 coronavirus infections were confirmed in the Harrogate district in October.

Analysis of Public Health England data for the month shows there were 1,353 positive tests in the district and four deaths at Harrogate District Hospital.

The number of infections is more than half of the 2,502 cases since the start of the pandemic.

Daily cases peaked at 83 on October 28, which represented the highest daily increase in the district.

The rate of daily increases in the Harrogate district throughout October. Data: Public Health England. Graph: the Stray Ferret.

The rate of daily increases and deaths in the Harrogate district throughout October. Data: Public Health England. Graph: the Stray Ferret.

However, the district also saw its first permanent coronavirus testing centre open last month which has capacity for up to 320 tests per day.

Today saw another 48 positive tests confirmed in the district.

Yesterday York Central MP and shadow minister, Rachael Maskell, said the turnaround for covid tests in the county was taking “far too long”. She said only 16% of tests were being returned after 24 hours.

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Meanwhile, the weekly case rate in the district stands at 252 per 100,000 people, which is still above the national average.

It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a second national lockdown in England from Thursday.

The measure will see non-essential shops, pubs and gyms close.

Harrogate and Ripon self-employed angry and fearful of second lockdown

Self-employed businesses in the Harrogate district have expressed fears for their future ahead of a second national lockdown.

Two local business owners told the Stray Ferret they had just started to see work return after the first lockdown only to be told that the country will shutdown again on Thursday.

Hannah Ruddy, whose business Musicality Kids provides music classes for children in Harrogate, said she spent £1,500 on making her classes covid-secure only to now see her work cancelled.

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Ms Ruddy added she and many other self-employed people had received no support since the start of the pandemic.

She was among those who were denied a discretionary grant of up to £10,000 in September because she did not have business premises.

Now she is concerned about the impact of another lockdown:

“I’m worried because I do not know where the money is going to come from and if I’m going to have to borrow again.

“I’m concerned about the communication and clarity about how long this is going to go on for.

“But, most of all, I’m angry at the lack of support for a large proportion of the self employed.”

‘No idea if we will survive’

Jennie Eyres, who runs a teacher training business in Ripon, has also received no financial support.

Besides her teaching business, Ms Eyres also runs a magazine that publicises activities for children.

Although she has had some work from schools, her businesses face uncertainty as lockdown looms.

She said:

“I still do not get any support and one business is severely hampered because the companies I work with are in the leisure and entertainment industries.”

Ms Eyres said it was the worry of “not knowing from one week to next” where work was going to come from which affected her the most.

She added she was fortunate her savings and her husband’s income had enabled her family to stay afloat during the pandemic.

When asked if she felt her businesses could survive a four-week lockdown, Jenny said:

“If it does go down, then we will have to tighten our belts and do something else. But I do not know, I literally have no idea.”

Furlough extension

The government announced an extension to the furlough scheme as part of the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday evening.

It will see the scheme extended to December and pay 80% of employee salaries up to £2,500 a month.

Yesterday, Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that the self-employed would be able to claim state aid of up to 80% of profits during the second lockdown.

Harrogate district floods: homes, cars and cows rescued

Emergency services in the Harrogate district have had a busy day rescuing people trapped by floodwater in their homes and cars — as well as saving a herd of cows.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to reports of cattle stuck on the Ure bank in Ripon just before 2pm.

The river level in the area increased rapidly from below one metre to almost four metres today.

Appliances from Ripon, Richmond, Colburn and Selby used water rescue equipment to save the herd before leaving the incident in the hands of North Yorkshire Police.

Crew from Knaresborough and Wetherby rescued a female driver stuck inside a vehicle in flood water in Cattal shortly before midday.

Minutes earlier, firemen had removed water from a flooded home in Masham after the river burst its banks.

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At around 4pm crews in Ripon also rescued an elderly man from a car after he had driven into flood water.

Flood warnings remain in place for the River Nidd in Knaresborough and the River Ure at Masham.

The government’s flood information service posted an update on the situation in Masham this afternoon, which said:

“Please activate any property flood protection products you may have, such as flood barriers and air brick covers, and stay away from fast moving water.”

A further 53 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Harrogate district

A further 53 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to Public Health England figures.

It takes the total number of cases up to 2,300 since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day case rate up to October 27 has dropped to 239 per 100,000 people. However this remains above the national average of 225.

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Currently, 16 patients who have tested positive for coronavirus are being treated at Harrogate District Hospital, according to figures from the hospital trust.

Since the start of the pandemic, 219 covid patients have been treated and discharged, including 14 in the last week, while 86 people have died after testing positive for the virus.

North Yorkshire is now the only county in the region which has not been moved up to a higher local lockdown tier.

From Monday, West Yorkshire and Leeds will be moved into tier three.

However, Richard Webb, director of adult care at North Yorkshire County Council, warned on Wednesday that the county could enter tier two before the end of the week.

Harrogate district’s coronavirus rate rises above national average

The Harrogate district’s seven-day coronavirus rate has risen above the England average, according to figures released today.

The district now has an infection rate of 242 per 100,000 people compared with a national average of 225. The figures are for the seven-day period to October 26

It comes as a further 58 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the district today.

It takes the total amount of cases since the start of the pandemic up to 2,247, according to Public Health England data.

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Meanwhile, Harrogate District Hospital has reported another death from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus. It is the third death reported in eight days.

According to NHS England figures, it takes the total number of deaths at the hospital to 87.

Yesterday, Richard Webb, director of adult care at North Yorkshire County Council, warned that the county could enter tier two restrictions by the end of the week.

Mr Webb told a briefing of North Yorkshire Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackle emergencies, that the situation in the county was “hanging by a thread” due to a rise in infections.

Harrogate district suffers record daily covid increase

Eighty-three people in the Harrogate district have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the latest daily figures by Public Health England.

It is the largest daily increase in the district since the pandemic began, beating the 63 infections recorded on October 20.

Today’s figure brings the total number of infections in the district since the start of the pandemic to 2,106.

Speculation is rising that North Yorkshire will enter tier two this week amid the rising number of cases.

The Harrogate district currently has a seven-day rolling average of 203 positive cases per 100,000 people, which despite rising sharply is nevertheless below the England national average of 220.

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According to government figures, the R rate for the district is 1.3.

Harrogate central, Harrogate west and Pannal, Boroughbridge and Marton-cum-Grafton and Killinghall and Hampsthwaite have experienced the highest number of infections in the district in the last seven days.

Ripon has experienced the lowest number.

Harrogate District Hospital has 12 coronavirus patients – three of whom are in intensive care.