Deaths and test results

EIGHT (8) additional deaths at the York Hospital Trust announced today. One occurred on Friday, one on Saturday three on Sunday and three yesterday.

The cumulative total since the beginning of September is now 139.

ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN (107) additional positive test results announced today. That is the largest total for over 2 months. It brings the cumulative total to 6166.

Rate /100k population rises to 103.5.

The situation is continuing to worsen.

The 63 infections found on Sunday was worst single day figure seen since 2nd November.

The picture at neighbourhood level reflects the general increase in infection rates.

No neighbourhood now has fewer than 3 cases.

Infection rates are growing quickly at national level.

They are fairly stable at regional level much of which has Tier 3 restrictions in place.

Rates at North Yorkshire and City level are growing at approximately the same rate.

Residents will be expecting an early statement from the health authorities.

Infection rates are rising as quickly as we saw in September and October. This led to the early imposition of increased restrictions.

It is still not at all clear which are the major sources of the infection.

The most likely transmission areas are inter household mixing (whether inside or outside) & leisure venues.

More information should by now be available from the contact tracing teams. We hope that the Council will share this information with residents.

National infection rate map from COVID-19 Tier Map — Election Maps UK

Moor Lane vaccination centre busy today

Working on behalf of 11 GP Practices, Nimbuscare announced at the weekend that it has opened a COVID-19 vaccination site in York.

They have begun offering the COVID-19 vaccine to invited individuals..

Key things to know about the new site:

Those in the first priority groups will be offered the vaccine first. All those vaccinated will also need to come for a booster jab at a later date. People will be contacted when the time is right to come for their appointment. You will be contacted by letter, text message or phone call. Please don’t contact your local GP practice or hospital to ask about the vaccine and please do not come to the site without an appointment. Getting vaccinated means protecting yourself form the virus so you can be there for your family, friends and patients.

Seasonal surplus food distribution tomorrow (Wednesday)

More on fines for Tier 3 visitors

Shocking number of fines handed to tier 3 visitors ignoring restrictions and visiting York this weekend

City of York police have issued a shocking number of fines to tier 3 residents, who chose to flout regulations and visit the city this weekend.

Local policing teams made proactive visits with City of York Council covid support marshalls and enforcement officers to a number of licensed premises on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to ensure people were acting responsibly and being safe by sticking to the regulations around indoor gatherings and the rule of six outdoors.

However, officers encountered large numbers of visitors from tier 3 areas, who had chosen to ignore the warnings and put local residents at risk by flouting the regulations. Many were found to be from multiple households who were mixing indoors, clearly breaking the tier 3 restrictions which travel with them. When spoken to by officers, some did disperse and leave the area, but some groups were resistant to police advice, resulting in enforcement action being taken.

Over the weekend police have processed 61 tickets issued in York alone, with 55 being handed to tier 3 residents in breach of their tier regulations. However, officers have stated that there are over 100 more tickets in the pipeline, awaiting paperwork completion and processing.

Superintendent Mike Walker, who is leading the North Yorkshire Police response to Covid-19 said:

“Looking at the numbers of fines handed out this weekend which are still awaiting processing, we believe that we have handed out over 160 tickets, with the vast majority being issued to tier 3 residents who visited York to mix and socialise indoors, which is in clear breach of their restrictions.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been very clear about our approach and the action taken this weekend is evidence of it. We have stated our teams would be patrolling, speaking to the public and encouraging them to adhere to the rules. Where we encounter people who refuse to adhere to the regulations and believe their pint is more important than someone’s life, we will use our enforcement powers.

“Some people who were spoken to by officers did go home. However, our teams encountered large numbers of people who were not responsive to the advice, leaving us no option but to enforce through the use of fixed penalty notices.

“We will continue to patrol the city and the wider county and we will be visiting licensed premises and busy shopping areas. People very clearly know and understand the risks, they know that this virus is deadly, they will know about the identification of a new strain and know the serious steps the Government has taken in the South East, so there really is no excuse for acting so irresponsibly.

“If you choose to visit the city of York from tier 3 areas without a justifiable reason to have made your journey – with our extra patrols, chances are you will encounter one of our officers and you’ll be asked about the reason for your visit. It is our responsibility to ask those questions, to determine the truth and take the necessary action, in order to stop the spread and ultimately save lives.

“We remain undeterred from our objective to keep the people of North Yorkshire safe.”

Cllr Denise Craghill, executive member for safer communities at City of York Council said: “We want people to enjoy York safely and in line with Government rules. You should not travel across tier boundaries and in York, tier 2 restrictions must be followed: meet only your household or your bubble, or up to six people outside. Please remember to continue to wash your hands, wear a face covering and give each other 2 metres space.

“No one in the city wants to put loved ones at risk for the sake of a night out and undo the city’s hard work and sacrifice.”