Deaths and test results
There has been ONE additional death announced today by the York Hospital Trust. It occurred yesterday (11th).
There have been 56 (FIFTY SIX) new positive test results announced today
The number of cases in the City continues to reduce slowly.
There has been a spike in infections in the South Bank and Dringhouses neighbourhood.
Other areas continue to be at or below the national average
3541 P2 tests were carried out in the City last week. Around 11% were positive.
Mass testing
The York Council has issued the following statement from Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health, about the opportunity for mass testing in York.
Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health, said:
We can confirm that City of York Council has not rejected the offer of mass testing and in fact, we are working to develop our proposals for introducing mass testing in the city.
Directors of Public Health have been asked to submit expressions of interest to test 10% of our local population on a weekly rolling basis, which will mean testing approximately 20,000 residents every week in York.
This is something new that we have never done before and so we wanted to take time to plan how this new testing programme can be delivered effectively and in a safe way. Anyone testing positive will need to be referred into our local contact tracing service and so, we also need some time to expand the service in order to accept more referrals.
We are currently taking on board learning from the approach taken in Liverpool and we are working on our ‘expression of interest’ proposals, which will be presented to the Outbreak Management Advisory Board next week for consideration, after which the proposal will be submitted to the Department for Health and Social Care.
In the meantime, anyone with symptoms of coronavirus can arrange a free test by visiting https://www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or calling 119″
City of York Council is once again thanking businesses and residents in the city and asking people to continue their efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
Since the 7 day rate of cases per 100,000 of population in York peaked at 309.6 on 20 October, the rate has recently fallen to 176.6 (as at 6 November). The rate in York is below the national and regional averages and is currently among the lowest in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.
The percentage of people who test positive after taking a community based (Pillar 2) test in York has fallen to 10.2% (as of 9 November) after a peak of 18% (on 15 October). The rate in York is currently lower than national and regional averages.
Council leaders are asking everyone to continue to practice Hands. Face. Space and self-isolate if they have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace to continue to reduce the number of cases.
In recent weeks the council has launched its local contact tracing programme to reach those the national system has been unable to.
Since then, the number of people being contacted to check they are ok and identify any contacts has increased substantially.
In the past two weeks, the council has reached well over 80% of contacts passed to them by the national test and trace service and the team are thankful for the support of residents who are contacted for this vital service.
A new animation to explain how the local test and trace system works is now available on youtube and will be added to the council website.
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council said:
This has been a challenging and uncertain period for everyone. One thing we can guarantee is that the people of this city will look after each other and we should be incredibly proud of that community spirit.
“Whilst it has been encouraging to see numbers falling in recent weeks, we cannot afford to be complacent as we have seen cases rise in other parts of the region and country.
“Our hope is that by the end of these national restrictions, if we continue our efforts, we can emerge at the lowest level of local restrictions.”
Sharon Stoltz, Director for Public Health said:
The news of potential vaccines being effective is encouraging however, until they are approved and mass vaccination is taking place, we can’t afford to be complacent.
“Recent weeks have seen a fall in the number of cases thanks to the efforts of people in the city. We want to continue to drive the numbers down further in the coming weeks.
“Washing our hands, wearing a face covering in busy public spaces and keeping a 2m distance from those you don’t live with remain as important as ever. As is self-isolating when you have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace. These methods remain our best way of stopping the spread and keeping the people we love safe.”
Businesses urged to register for grants
City of York Council is urging eligible businesses to register for government grants now the application process has opened today, 12 November.
Business owners can apply for the grants online at www.york.gov.uk/COVID19BusinessGrants
The latest Government grants cover both the brief period York was in Tier 2 restrictions and the current national lockdown. Council officers have been quickly working to set up the process after the government issued detailed guidance on delivering the three new grant schemes, which had been announced over the previous weeks.
The government-prescribed grant allocations, cover:
- The period of national lockdown;
- The brief period whilst York was in Tier 2 of local restrictions;
- The new grant for sectors which have received no previous government support
Businesses will soon be able to apply for the following grants:
Lockdown Local Restriction Scheme
Business forced to close by law under national lockdown from 5 November will receive:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks.
Tier 2 Local Restriction Scheme
Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors, B&Bs and hotels will receive a proportion of the following monthly grants to reflect the 19 days spent in Tier 2:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants of £934 per month
- For properties with a rateable value above £15k and below £51k, grants of £1,400 per month
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or above, grants of £2,100 per month
Sector support
A new government grant aimed at businesses which have not previously received support, including nightclubs, dance halls, and discotheques was introduced from 1 November 2020. However, this will be superseded from 5 November by the lockdown restriction scheme.
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants of £667 per 14-day period
- For properties with a rateable value above £15k and below £51k, grants of £1,000 per 14-day period
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or above, grants of £1,500 per 14-day period
The council has also been in extensive discussions with representative groups across the city to develop proposals for an additional discretionary fund given to local authorities by the government.
The council held an emergency decision of the executive member for finance and performance today (12 November), outlining how the fund could be used to support businesses which are forced to shut in the current lockdown, but miss out on the government funding, including:
- Providing equivalent grants to the supply chains of business forced to close
- Offering direct grants of up to £1334 per month for businesses which have to close but don’t pay rates
- A voucher scheme to be spent on effective local business support
- A small fund to support future events or works to bring customers to businesses
More details on the application process for these grants will be available soon. Register for business updates on the Council website at https://www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates, and you will be updated when applications go live.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said:
Council staff have once again put in a huge effort to get these schemes live exceptionally quickly, and are ready to distribute these latest government grants to businesses.
“In the summer they distributed over £110m of support, resulting in York being one of the fastest paying councils during the first national lockdown. Businesses can rest assured that this is once again our aim. They can help us do this by providing all the relevant information that is required for fraud checks and waiting patiently for grants, contacting us to check on progress will only slow down payments.
“I’d also like to thank all the partners, business leaders and lots of individual businesses which have helped us to develop the discretionary scheme. All the government guidance suggests that the £4.2m discretionary fund will have to cover all business support activity until March 2022. Working together I think we’ve quickly found the fairest and most effective way to support those businesses which are deeply affected by COVID but have missed out on government support.”
Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the economy and strategic planning, said:
I’m pleased to see that after months of active lobbying for more urgent and comprehensive support for businesses, that we are now in a position to distribute these grants to businesses who urgently need them.
“This funding will go some way to protecting hundreds of York businesses and jobs, sectors like retail, and some self-employed/micro businesses are set to miss out. That being said I would urge businesses who have fallen through the cracks and will not benefit from these new announcements, to please contact us as soon as possible at economicgrowth@york.gov.uk and we will continue to raise these ongoing issues with the Government and regional partners.
“There is also a lot more local support for businesses beyond these grants. Please get in touch with Make it York, York BID or the Federation of Small Businesses as soon as possible to find out more.”
Businesses can apply for grants at www.york.gov.uk/COVID19BusinessGrants
To get notification when grant applications open, and up to date info on other business support, sign up for our regular bulletins here www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates
