The York Council is coming in for more criticism as – for the second day running – waste, recycling and green bin collection arrangements failed yesterday.
Residents were advised to leave out their bins but most remain unemptied.
Officially the Council’s excuse is that there is a shortage of HGV drivers. That has been true since BREXIT saw some drivers return to their homelands although other pressures have resulted from COVID absences and increasing numbers of jobs in the commercial delivery sector.
The actual HGV training (practical) only takes 5 days but the entire process from start to end will take around 8-10 weeks to get the licence in hand.
Usually employers pay for the training in return for a guarantee that the driver will stay with the company/authority for a minimum contract period.
Some HGV drivers can earn up to £45.000 a year. There are an estimated 500,000 vacancies for HGV drivers in the UK.
The Council first identified a shortage of HGV drivers in November 2018 click.
It appears to have made little progress in the interim to ensure that vacancies can be covered.
In the meantime, it needs to be more proactive in telling residents when they can expect to have their waste collected.
If necessary, auxiliary “bring” sites should be established for green waste.
It is not just refuse collection failings which are causing concerns.
Many sports fields and play areas have not had the grass trimmed for several weeks. The neglect runs contrary to the Council s policy of tackling obesity and encouraging healthy lifestyles. When they are eventually cut, mounds of cuttings blight the parks and amenity spaces.
Overgrown grass, poor maintenance and blocked footpaths
Weeds are now growing rapidly in many gutters. The spraying contractors got off to an early start this year but standards have gradually declined as the summer growing season has got into full swing. Where gutters have not been swept properly, weeds are now reaching a metre or more in height. Again the Council have failed to tell residents when they can expect to see their streets treated,
The promised rain later this week, will see more rapid growth in grass, weeds and bushes. Many of the latter are already obstructing footpaths.
The Council web site confirms that they cut grass “every two to three weeks”
Although York is not yet classed as an area where the Delta strain of the virus is most prolific, here is some advice from the government.
The new COVID-19 variant (known as Delta) spreads more easily than the other variants that were previously most common. To help stop the spread, you should:
Participate in surge testing in your local area, whether you are vaccinated or not
Self-isolateimmediately if you have any symptomsof COVID-19 (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste) or if you’ve tested positivefor COVID-19
You should also take particular caution when meeting anyone outside your household or support bubble. Wherever possible, you should try to:
Meet outside rather than inside where possible
Keep 2 metres apart from people that you do not live with (unless you have formed a support bubble with them), this includes friends and family you don’t live with
Minimise travel in and out of affected areas
The full government advice can be viewed by clicking here
York hospital patients and deaths
The York Hospital Trust has recorded its first COVID-19 death since 20th April. The fatality occurred on Friday. It brings the total number of deaths up to 593 since the start of the pandemic
The number of coronavirus patients being cared for by the Trust has increased to 6
The latest figures, covering the deaths’ of York residents, reveal that there was one fatality in a care home during the week ending 4th June.
The death brings the total toll among York residents, since the pandemic started, up to 379. This included (at 4th June) 221 hospital deaths, 128 in care homes, 22 at home and 8 in a hospice.
Test results
21 positive test results were announced today. Brings the cumulative total up to 12,649
The number of cases in the City has risen from 108 to 116
The rate /100k population has risen to 55.08. That is the highest rate recorded since 27th February 2021.
It is trending up to reach over 70+ before the end of the week
Neighbourhoods
Only 5 neighbourhoods now have fewer than 3 cases.
A big step up in case numbers is expected over next three days
Vaccinations
874 vaccinations were completed in the City yesterday (Monday)
Tests
5319 PCR tests were conducted during the week ending 10th June 2021
Of these, 2.0% were positive. That is an increase on the 1.9% found during the previous period.
In addition, 3044 “lateral flow” tests were also completed on 14th June.
York Council reacts to announcement about continuing restrictions
City of York Council have responded following the Prime Minister’s announcement relating to the delayed easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council said:
We know today’s news is frustrating for many who had high hopes for next week, however, there are still reasons to be optimistic. The vaccine rollout is continuing successfully and many of our local businesses have reopened safely giving us all the chance to once again enjoy so much that our city has to offer. Hopefully soon, with more people vaccinated, we will be able to take that next step safely.
“Throughout this pandemic, communities across York have come together and worked hard to look after each other. It has been a long and challenging period for us all, but I would encourage everyone to please keep going. Better times are ahead, as more of us get first and second doses of the vaccine.
“We are pleased though to see changes in the numbers allowed to attend weddings and civil partnership ceremonies, where social distancing measures allow. This will make a huge difference to many couples having their special day. Our Register Office will continue to support couples and will be contacting those who have booked ceremonies with us with further details. We will share more details when the guidance is published.
“We know this is difficult news for people and businesses who will be most directly impacted by this announcement. We will continue to support you, as we have done throughout the pandemic, and we will share more updates as guidance and information becomes available. Please continue to shop at local businesses who are working so hard to keep people safe.
“If you’re struggling to manage, or you don’t have any support, but need it because of COVID-19, please get in touch by emailing covid19help@york.gov.uk or calling telephone: 01904 551550. Businesses severely impacted by today’s announcement can get contact us by emailing the council’s Economic Growth team at economicgrowth@york.gov.uk.”
Fiona Phillips, Assistant Director of Public Health said:
Whilst today’s news is disappointing, with increasing cases and hospital admissions across the country and the presence of the delta variant, it isn’t surprising.
“In recent days we have seen cases increase across York – it is vital that we all remain vigilant and keep each other safe.
“This has been a challenging time, but please keep going and check in on friends and family who may be struggling. Help is at hand should people need it and it is important we look after our mental health as well as physical health.
“Whilst the vaccine roll out is going very well, many in the city are yet to have the vaccine and get that protection. We know too with the delta variant how important a second dose is to boosting immunity so please when you get invited get both doses. Please help keep each other safe and the city open by continuing to:
wash your hands regularly
wear a face covering in busy public spaces and where asked
give people space
meet outside, or open windows letting fresh air indoors
“The vaccines are working and saving lives. This and the fact they are being administered in great numbers means that better times are ahead. The slowing of the roadmap gives the opportunity for more people to be protected in the hope we can have a great and safe summer.”
Join us for stories, songs and rhymes at this socially distanced event. This is suitable for under 5’s with and accompanying adult. Each ticket is for 1 adult with children age under 5 years old.
Number of COVID-19 patients being cared for by the York Hospital Trust has increased to 5. There are currently no patients in the intensive care unit.
There have been no further deaths
Test Results
Twenty positive test results announced today. Brings the cumulative total up to 12,628
The number of cases in the City has risen to 108. This pushes the area into a higher infection band. The City last had this high a number of infections at the beginning of March.
The rate /100k population has risen to 51.28. This is the highest infection rate seen in the City since 28th February 2021. The rate continues to trend upwards and will reach 66.5 later in the week.
York remains below the national and regional infection rate levels but case numbers are increasing rapidly
Neighbourhoods
There has been a rise in infection levels in the Tang Hall area This neighbourhood has a large number of student dwellings.
Vaccinations
1743 vaccinations were undertaken in the City yesterday (Sunday)
Tests
5353 PCR tests were conducted during the week ending 9th June.
Of these, 1.9% were positive. That is a significant increase on the 1.6% found during the previous period.
In addition, 3384 “lateral flow” tests were also conducted on 13th June.
Changes to rules
In the light of new information which indicates that even some double vaccinated people have been admitted to hospital suffering from the new COVID-19 strain, most current restrictions are likely to remain in place. In York, 25% of adults have still to receive their first dose of vaccine.
No local figures have been released indicating how many of the positive test results have involved double vaccinated residents.
Similarly there has been no information provided on how transmission is taking place, although nationally it appears that contact in the home remains the main infection location.
The government measures are believed to include:
Keep restrictions in pubs that force them to operate table service only, with no queuing at the bar
Social distancing rules, including the wearing of masks indoors and on public transport, remain
Working from home guidance remains in place
Theatres limited to 50 per cent capacity
Nightclubs remain closed
Some increased capacity for sports events outdoors
Weddings no longer limited to 30 attendees. They will be allowed to go ahead with as many guests as can be held by the venue under social distancing rules
The government has also said
23-24 year olds will be able to book their vaccination appointment as soon as tomorrow,
By July 19, all adults will have had a first dose.
“We will certainly look at what we can do to accelerate second doses for university students”.
The Foxwood Residents Associartion is delivering a “Fox” newsletter to every househod in the area.
It includes an interesting article on he history of brick making on land now called Chesney’s Field. The article reveals that several buildings in Acomb used bricks from the works. Many are still standing.
Brick making started in 1880 and continued well into the 20th century.
The area was leveled 30 years ago and is currently well used by sports teams and for children’s play.
We understand that chidren from Hob Moor school are planning to “adopt” part of Chesney’s Field and help to keep it clean
We hope that the Council will improve its grass cutting performance.. It is not just parts of Chesney’s field which are becoming overgrown. The sports pitches, in particular, need regular mowing if they are to be used by young people during the summer holidays.
Dusty, dry, secretive, academic, mysterious, impenetrable – mainstream media often portrays archives (and archivists!) in these terms. This is despite the continuing efforts of the profession to ensure collections are open and accessible to all.
Explore York Libraries and Archives have partnered with Bright White Ltd, an innovator in digital storytelling, to slay the ˜dusty archives” dragon once and for all. Together, they are developing the prototype for the Explore Archives Storytelling Tool (EAST), which will allow the archives to be explored in new interactive ways.
Bright White’s creative developers Chris Walker and Andy Nye, along with Explore’s Civic Archivist Julie-Ann Vickers, will talk about the idea behind the new tool and their journey in developing the prototype.
As part of the event, you’ll also have the opportunity to participate in a demonstration of this next-generation archives experience for the first time in its development.
About the speakers:
Chris Walker is a Founding Director of the multi-award-winning design consultancy Bright White Ltd. Working predominantly in the museums and heritage sector, the company creates and implements innovative uses of technology in museum interpretation.
Andy Nye has spent 20 years in digital and has a proven track-record of concept creation, design and implementation. Since 2013 immersive technology has been a key part of his work. He has appeared on panels at shows such as the Wearable Technology Show and H+K’s influencer event, spoken at TEDx York and regularly hosts workshops on new technology.
Dr Julie-Ann Vickers is an archivist at Explore York Libraries and Archives. She has worked in local authority archives throughout Yorkshire as well as archives in Oxford, Suffolk and Leicester. She has a background in medieval history but her recent work has focussed on the 19th and 20th century records of York
We hope that residents will check and trim their boundary hedges at the same time. Several public footpaths are now obstructed by recent growth.
Some hedges are obstructing footpaths
Meanwhile the Council has, somewhat belatedly, got round to mowing local public open spaces. This has left a bit of a mess in some parks because of the large amount of grass clippings
UPDATE
Residents have collected 10 large bags of rubbish during todays Foxwood litter pick. Part of the Great British Spring Clean
Twenty-five positive test results today brings case total up to 12,562
The 24 cases recorded on Tuesday was the highest single day total seen since 20th February.
Case numbers remain at 65 but with a significant trend upwards expected from tomorrow
The rate /100k population is still 30.86 but the spike is in the pipeline will see the rate increase to over 50 next week.
The rate of increase in infection rate has similarities with the surge seen last September/October, but is not yet as severe.
The R rate in the region is now estimated to be over 1 meaning that the pandemic is growing again. This seems to have been caused by the arrival of the more virulent “Delta ” variant coupled to the relaxation of restrictions, school half term etc.
Over 90% of positive test results are being recorded by people aged under 60. The heatmap below shows a high infection rate in the 10 -19 age groups
Infection rates are increasing significantly at all levels.
Neighbourhoods
Vaccinations
775 vaccinations were completed on Thursday in York. That is the lowest this month and down from a peak of 2,322 jabs last Saturday.
Tests
4871 PCR tests were completed during the week ending 6th June 2021
Of these, 1.3% were positive. That is the same proportion as that found during the previous period
In addition, 2380 “lateral flow” tests were conducted on 10th June.
Council commentary updated
The York Council’s commentary on the pandemic, which can be found on “open data” has been updated. It is reproduce below.
The data is accurate as at 8.00 a.m. on Friday 11.06.21. Some narrative for the data covering the latest period is provided here below:
People with Covid Symptoms
• NHS Pathways/111 triages – as at 7.6.21 there had been 70 total covid triages in the CYC area in the last 7 days. The peak number of triages was 653 in the 7 day period to 20.9.20.
• As at 10.6.21, the Covid Symptom App estimates 331 per 100,000 in York with symptomatic covid (responses from a sample of 3,954 people). The peak rate was 1,283 on 7.1.21.
Diagnosed cases
• As at 10.6.21 York has had 12,537 cases since the start of the pandemic, a rate of 5,953 per 100,000 of population. The cumulative rate in York is below the national (7,040) and regional (7,404) averages.
• The PHE ‘Exceedance’ rating compares the no. of new cases over a 14 day period with the previous 6 weeks and provides a RAG rating to indicate if the previously observed trend in the number of new cases is worsening. The latest rating for York (7.6.21) is Red.
• The provisional rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 of population for the period 2.6.21 to 8.6.21 in York is 46.5 (98 cases). (Using data published on Gov.uk on 10.6.21).
• The latest official “validated” rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 of population for the period 30.5.21 to 5.6.21 in York was 30.9 (65 cases). The national and regional averages at this date were 50.3 and 54 respectively (using data published on Gov.uk on 10.6.21).
• York is currently ranked 65th out of 149 Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLAs) in England with a rank of 1 indicating the lowest 7 day rate.
• For the 7 day period 29.5.21.to 4.6.21, the number of cases in each ward varied from 0 to 7 and rates varied from 0 to 96.5 per 100,000. 3 wards had zero cases.
• The rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 of population for the period 30.5.21 to 5.6.21 for people aged 60+ in York was 2.0 (1 case). The national and regional averages were 10.3 and 12.0 respectively.
• As at 8.6.21, the latest 7 day positivity rate in York (Pillar 2 PCR tests only) was 2.66%. The national and regional averages are 3.3% and 3.9% respectively.
• As at 8.6.21 the latest 7 day positivity rate in York (Pillar 2 Lateral Flow Tests only) was 0.26%. The national and regional averages are 0.3% and 0.3% respectively.
• As at 8.6.21 the latest 7 day positivity rate in York (Pillar 1 tests only) was 0.2%. The national average is 0.4%.
• As at 4.6.21 York University reported 1 individual within the University community who was currently self-isolating because they have had a positive COVID-19 test. The peak number was 331 on the 19.10.20.
• As at 7.6.21 York St. John reported 2 individuals within the University community who were currently self-isolating because they have had a positive COVID-19 test. The peak number was 82 on the 8.10.20.
Contact Tracing
• Local Contact Tracing. Between 10.3.21 and 4.6.21, 291 referrals had been actioned by the local contact tracing service. Of the referrals actioned, 273 (93.8%) were successful and 18 (6.2%) were unable to be reached via phone or home visit, but guidance leaflets were posted where possible. (NB on the 10.3.21 the local CYC team became responsible for contacting all cases rather than just those that the national team could not contact).
Cases in Residential Care Settings
• As at 10.6.21 there were 0 care homes in the CYC area with confirmed Covid-19 infection (at least 1 case of either a staff member or resident).
• The latest ‘outbreak’ (2+ cases) in a residential care setting in York were reported by PHE on 25.2.21 (1 home).
Cases amongst School Aged Children
• In the 7 days up to 7.6.21 there were 14 children of primary or secondary school age who tested positive (across 8 different schools).
COVID Bed Occupancy in York Hospital
• As at 8.6.21 there were 2 confirmed Covid-19 patients in General/Acute beds. The peak number was 157 on 19.1.21.
• As at 8.6.21 there were 0 confirmed Covid-19 patients and 0 suspected Covid-19 patients in the Intensive Treatment Unit. The peak number for people in ITU was 19 on 10.5.20.
R Number
• The ‘R’ value (the number of people that one infected person will pass on a virus to, on average) for the North East and Yorkshire area on 4.6.21 was estimated to be in the range 0.9 to 1.1. The previous estimate was (0.8 to 1.0) on 28.5.21.
Variants of Concern
• Published data from Public Health England shows that in York, up to 2.6.21, there had been less than five confirmed cases of the Delta Variant of Concern (VOC-21APR-02) which was first identified in India. More recent provisional data is available on cases where the test was processed in a laboratory which can identify Variants of Concern. This shows that over half of new cases in the most recent month in York were likely to be the Delta Variant.
Total Vaccinations
• As at 9.6.21 a total of 123,812 CYC residents have had the first dose of the vaccine. This represents 58.8% of the estimated total population of York and 71.2% of the estimated adult (18+) population of York.
• As at 9.6.21 a total of 85,501 CYC residents have had both doses of the vaccine. This represents 40.6% of the estimated total population of York and 49.1% of the estimated adult (18+) population of York.
Deaths
The two sources about deaths from Covid-19 at LA level are ONS data and local registrar data. They are derived from the same source (civil registration data). ONS data is more comprehensive as it includes deaths of York residents which have occurred and been registered outside York. Local registrar data provides a breakdown by age and gender. The most recently available data is summarised below:
• ONS Weekly data: In the most recent period (Week 21: 22.5.21 to 28.5.21) 0 Covid-19 deaths were recorded as having occurred for CYC residents. The last death from Covid-19 for a CYC resident occurred in Week 17 (24.4.21 to 30.4.21)
• ONS Cumulative data: Since the start of the pandemic, for deaths occurring up to 28th May 2021 and registered up to 5th June 2021, 396 Covid-19 deaths were recorded as having occurred for CYC residents (228 in hospital, 135 in care homes, 25 at home/elsewhere and 8 in a hospice). The number of deaths per 100,000 of population in York is 188.02 which is lower than the national average of 232.44
• Age / Gender breakdown (using registrar data): The average age of the CYC residents who died was 82.1, with an age range of 44-104. The age profile of the CYC residents who have died is older than the national average (79.5% were aged 75+ compared with 73% nationally). 47.9% of the CYC residents who died were male. The national average is 54.4%.
