Weather – risk of ice

Although rain and snow falls are forecast to die out today, freezing temperatures may return tomorrow morning.

It is possible that the slush will then turn to ice.

So it may be a good time to check that your local salt bin is full?

For bin locations and details of gritting routes click here.

Then tick “street care” and the tags for salt bins, primary and secondary gritting routes.

Salt bin locations click

Coronavirus York updates; 14th January 2021

Deaths

Two additional deaths were announced by the York Hospital Trust today. Both occurred on Tuesday. The cumulative total number of fatalities at the York and Scarborough hospitals since 1st September now stands at 196.

Test results

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE additional positive test results announced today. Brings cumulative total to 9722.

Rate /100k population falls to 657.42 and is expected to reduce to below 600 over the next couple of days.

The Council has said that 2.5% of asymptomatic people taking lateral flow tests in York had positive results.

This compares with 17.3% (latest 7 day rolling figure to 4th January) who took P1 & P2 tests.

The Thanet Road test site has been closed today because of the weather

It is scheduled to reopen on Saturday

Neighbourhoods

Caser numbers are now beginning to fall across most of the City.

They are also falling at county, regional and national levels.

Vaccinations

Not available at local level

Some regional figures were published today as below

The COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is based on decades of experience of delivering large-scale vaccination programmes. We will prioritise those who need it most.

Outbreak Management Board meeting

A recording of the meeting can be viewed by clicking below

It was claimed at the meeting that local authorities had not been advised by the government of;

  1. the number and percentage of York residents who have been vaccinated locally &
  2. the numbers and details of people who have not responded to an invitation to be vaccinated.

That seems to us to be a major system failing (given that progress numbers ARE aggregated and published at a national level.)

The meeting did hear that arrangements had been made to ensure that people who were unable to go “on line” to book jabs would still be able to arrange an appointment.

The meeting heard that 144 (2.5%), of the 5888 lateral flow tests carried out so far in the City, on asymptomatic residents, had produced a positive result.

This is the equivalent of an “R” value of 1.4 and could help to explain the rapid rise in cases over the last two weeks.

No information was provided on the percentage of positive test being recorded at the mobile test sites (Bishopthorpe, Thanet Road).

NB. The mobile test site uses the PCR laboratory based system which is generally regarded as being more accurate than the lateral flow option)

Acorn Rugby Club event

The media are reporting that some of those who attended an event at the Acorn Rugby Club before Christmas have contracted Coronavirus. To read the media report please click here

Please remember that the mobile testing centre on Thanet Road will remain open for another week. Book a test here www.nhs.uk/Coronavirus

Letter to parents from York Council

A letter to parents and carers with children at schools in York.

Dear parents/carers,

Following the announcement of the third national lockdown on 4 January, City of York Council has been working with the city’s schools to ensure that they are able to provide a vital service for critical workers and vulnerable children in the city whilst continuing to operate safely. 

At a time when the rates of infection both nationally and locally are rising it is very important that we work together to protect frontline services. At the same time we need to continue to prevent the spread of the virus by keeping the number of household contacts to a minimum.

Last week, the Government followed up its initial guidance on who qualifies as a critical worker. The Government is now asking parents and carers who are critical workers to keep their children at home if possible and only use a school place if they have no other options available. 

If you qualify as a critical worker but can manage to have your children at home we would urge you to do so. The fewer children we have in schools, the more it will help in our collective efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

Our schools have risk assessments in place which allow them to work safely and to minimise the risk of transmission of Covid19. For this to work as effectively as possible schools need to have the capacity to support home learning as well as having sufficient staff to supervise children on site. For these reasons they need to keep the numbers in school at a safe level. 

We appreciate that this is a difficult time for parents and carers. We know that this situation is causing considerable disruption to your personal and working lives.  Schools are also working extremely hard to ensure that places are available for frontline workers and for vulnerable children.

We would also, like you, much prefer to have children in school. However, in order to reduce the rates of infection, and following the latest Government advice, we would ask you to think carefully about your individual circumstances, particularly if you or your partner is able to work from home.  If you can, it would be really helpful for the safe management of our schools and the suppression of the virus if you could make arrangements to keep your child at home. Where this proves impossible then we will work with parents and carers to find access to provision.  

To help support families during the coronavirus pandemic, our educational psychology team has created a booklet with information about how parents can look after their own emotional health, and support their children, which you may find useful. You can find it on our website

You can also keep up to date with the latest information about the coronavirus response in York:

We are incredibly grateful for all you have done already and on behalf of the city, thank you for all you are doing to reduce the spread of the virus.

Stay safe and best wishes

Councillor Keith Orrell                  
Executive Member for Children,                 
Young People and Education
City of York Council                     


Amanda Hatton
Corporate Director of People
City of York Council 

Fixed Penalty Notices issued from 6 January 2021

North Yorkshire Police have issued 107 FPNs for breaches of the Coronavirus regulations since the new national lockdown commenced on 6 January 2021.

Local Authority Area where Notice IssuedTotal Notices IssuedLocal ResidentsVisitorsMaleFemaleBeing Outside Place of LivingOutdoor GatheringIndoor GatheringObstruct / Contravene
Craven1911816319
Hambleton4444
Harrogate10109110
Richmond
Ryedale
Scarborough49351428211534
Selby32133
York22193166715
TOTALS10757507631580490

Speaking about the number of fines issued in the first week of the national lockdown, Superintendent Mike Walker, lead for the force’s Covid-19 response said:

“We have issued 107 fixed penalty notices since the national lockdown commenced on 6 January 2021, which is more than double the number we issued in the first week of the first national lockdown last year.

“Sadly we are seeing a minority of people flouting the rules and who are making unnecessary journeys into or across the county or who are gathering indoors and holding house parties.

“I cannot emphasis enough the risk this behaviour presents at this current time and I urge people to think about their actions and very carefully consider the decisions they make about leaving home. You should only leave home for essential reasons and if you do go out, you should stay local.

“Currently within North Yorkshire and the City of York we have some of the highest infection rates across the Yorkshire and Humber region. So it isn’t just about the risk of people bringing the virus in with them. It’s about the risk that you could pick up the virus here and take it home with you, spreading it wider to your family and loved ones.

“So please follow the rules – stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

COVID-19 VACCINE FACT CHECK 

The COVID-19 vaccine will always be available free of charge. 

The NHS will never ask you to share bank details to confirm your identity.