Westfield Labour candidate jailed

The media are reporting that Fasil Demsash who stood as a Labour candidate in the Westfield ward at the last local elections in 2019 has been jailed for 9 years following the rape of a teenager.

The offence took place several months before he became a Labour candidate.

Fasil Demsash polled 830 votes in the May 2019 Council elections coming 6th out of 13 candidates in the Westfield poll.

Details of the media report can be found by clicking here

Further details on Police web site click

Bus subsidies for hospital and Community Stadium services

A government subsidy of £83,000 is to be used to support to bus service links in the City

Rawcliffe Bar Park and Ride – Hospital
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This service has run into financial difficulties as bus patronage fell during the pandemic.  The service is used by staff and patients to access the Hospital, while avoiding congestion and parking charges, in the Wigginton Road area. The subsidy only lasts until the end of March 2021 so what happens to the service after that is unclear.

Originally it was hoped that the link would reduce car usage in and near the City centre.

Community Stadium
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Tonight sees what may be the first game for York City at the Community Stadium.

It will be a behind closed doors event.

With the National League North likely to be abandoned before the end of the month, it may also prove to be the last football match there until late summer.

£63,000 has been allocated for new bus service links to the stadium. Although there would be little point in introducing such links while the ban on spectators remains, they would be a welcome addition when things return to “normal”.  

Hopefully the government will extend the availability of the subsidy so it can be used during the 2021/22 financial year.

The first to benefit may be York Knights fans who hope that limited attendances might be permitted during the latter part of their campaign which starts in March.

Council bus service subsidy decisions

Coronavirus York updates; 16th February 2021

Deaths

Spike in deaths reported at York hospital with EIGHT fatalities announced today. Two occurred on Saturday and six on Sunday. Brings the cumulative total number of fatalities since 1st September up to 335.

Test results

TWELVE positive test results announced today. Brings total up to 11,605

Rate /100k population figure has fallen to 92.11

Infection rates are continuing to fall at all levels but more slowly at the Yorkshire regional level than elsewhere.

Neighbourhoods

For the first time since 14th December 2020 two neighbourhoods both have fewer than 3 cases. They are South Bank/Dringhouses and Bishopthorpe/Copmanthorpe

Overall the number of cases in the City has fallen below 200 for the first time this year,

Tests

4582 PCR tests were conducted in the City during the week ending 11th February.

Of these, 4.7% produced a positive result. The positivity rate in the City continues to fall.

994 lateral flow tests were also conducted on 15th February

Hospitals

The number of COVID-19 hospital patients has fallen to 96 according to the York Hospital Trust.

10 patients are in intensive care.

Vaccinations

York’s pharmacy group Citywide Health is opening a Covid vaccination service at 6 Wyre Court, which is opposite Haxby Pharmacy. Invitations for the clinics will be sent out nationally by the NHS, giving access to the booking system. It will vaccinate 1,000 patients every week after its launch on 25 February

It is hoped that Citywide Health will roll out the service to all its pharmacies in York in the coming months. More

Older peoples jabs

Residents of the council’s independent living communities have been provided with Covid-19 vaccines in the comfort of their own home.

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Lincoln Court

To support the NHS’s vaccine rollout to older residents, the council has been working with a local consortium of 11 GP practices in York, Nimbuscare, to deliver this service.

In late January, 340 people across the council’s 11 independent living communities (ILCs) were vaccinated. Staff from the council and Nimbuscare ensured the vaccines were given in covid-safe conditions either in their ILC’s communal area or in their own home. Staff who work at the ILCs were also vaccinated.

Cllr Carol Runciman, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care at City of York Council, said:

“Older and less mobile residents have welcomed this on-site service, which meant they did not have to leave their community to get the vaccine. This supported them to stay at home and stay safe during lockdown and avoided them having to go out in the very cold weather.

“This partnership has meant more people are benefitting from the vaccine more quickly. I’d like to thank teams from Nimbuscare and the ILCs who worked very well together to co-ordinate this operation.”

Prof Mike Holmes, Nimbuscare clinical lead, said:

“The team at Nimbuscare were pleased to offer Covid vaccines to people as part of our city-wide vaccination service. It’s really important that people over 70 who cannot get to the vaccination centre are protected and our vaccinators were happy to help by going out to people in their homes.

“We believe that by working collaboratively we can offer a better service for the people of York. Nobody will miss out and we are working really hard to make sure that we offer everyone a vaccine in order of the national priority groups.”

Dr Nigel Wells, a local GP and Clinical Chair at NHS Vale of York CCG said:

“This is another great example of organisations coming together and working innovatively to reach out to patients in what has been the busiest ever period in the history of the NHS.”

Questions answered

York Council session. Tomorrow. Ask questions live or email them in advance to YourQuestions@york.gov.uk

A photo of York city centre at dusk sits behind text reading the event details on Wednesday 17 February, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm and the details of how to submit questions included in the message.