Deaths & Cases
ONE more patient with coronavirus has died at a hospital yesterday within the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. A further four died today. The five further deaths takes the total number of Covid-19 related fatalities within the trust to 210. The trust includes York Hospital and Scarborough Hospital.
There are 456 confirmed cases in the city
Council urges caution
Following changes to the government’s coronavirus advice, social distancing and lockdown measures, we are encouraging residents to continue follow the guidance, protect the NHS and save lives.
New guidelines are set to come into action on 1 June which allow the opening of car showrooms, outdoor markets and permit groups of up to six people to meet outdoors, as long as social distancing is followed. The revised national guidance can be found here: www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
We are continuing to advise people who may want to visit to keep their trip to York on hold for now, so they can instead see the city and enjoy our attractions in full when it is safe to do so.
Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Keith Aspden, said:
“As certain lockdown restrictions are starting to be eased, it’s of course encouraging that people will be able to see some of their family and friends again. It’s also positive to see more local businesses putting plans in place and reopening as we start on the road to recovery.
“We are continuing to look at the new ways that services right across the Council will be delivered in the coming weeks and months, as we all work together to help York recover from this pandemic.
“As part of our recovery, it is vital that residents continue their great work in following these national guidelines; especially social distancing and continuing to frequently wash hands.”
Deputy Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Andy D’Agorne, said:
“It has been great to see how York’s residents and business have pulled together over the past weeks and months to help fight coronavirus. This next easing of restrictions signals another step on the road to recovery.
“That being said, it is vital that we all continue to be vigilant. It is only through each of us playing our own small part that we can continue to reduce the number of infections and ultimately save lives going forward.”
For more information about coronavirus in York visit www.york.gov.uk/coronavirus
York’s small businesses reminded to prepare for extension to grants scheme
City of York Council is reminding small and micro businesses which have missed out on government support that its grant scheme will be extended from Monday (June 1).
City of York Council is reminding small and micro businesses which have missed out on government support that its grant scheme will be extended from Monday (June 1).
The council is using an additional £2.2m discretionary government fund to expand its own small and micros grant scheme, which has already supported over 1000 local businesses affected by the coronavirus.
The grants will benefit small businesses including those in shared offices and flexible work spaces, science parks and incubators. Regular market traders without a business rates assessment, nurseries, B&Bs paying council tax instead of business rates, and charity properties which all missed out under previous schemes will also be eligible.
The council is also now able to welcome new applications for grants from people who are self-employed with fixed property costs after the government removed a restriction on the use of the funds.
The grants will be between £1000 and £10000 depending on the size and nature of the business, with the following available:
- Small business and childcare nurseries up to £10000
- Micro business up to £5000
- B&Bs and market traders who live in York up to £2,500
- Self-employed with fixed property costs up to £1000
Businesses must have been trading before 11 March 2020, have a rateable value or annual mortgage of below £51,000, and demonstrate both an ongoing fixed property cost and significant financial impact of the coronavirus. It is not available to any business eligible for any other government COVID grant.
We expect these grants to be in high demand, so please visit our www.york.gov.uk/COVIDMicroGrant to understand if your business is eligible and what evidence you’ll need to make a successful application.
Businesses can get a message as soon as the form goes live by signing up to an e-newsletter https://www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates
The council has continued to process applications for the existing scheme in order to ensure no eligible business misses out on any funding. All outstanding applicants and previous grantees will be contacted by the council next week, as many will be eligible for a top-up under the enhanced scheme.
The council acted quickly to distribute £110m of grants and rates relief to over 3000 York businesses, and created its own £1m grant scheme to benefit over 1000 more which did not qualify for government support.
Under the discretionary fund, local authorities have been given an additional 5% of the total value of grants already distributed in York, together with some government rules and outline guidance on which businesses should benefit. However, this means councils have to use local knowledge to decide how to fairly distribute the money to benefit as many businesses as possible.
Depending on the volume of applications and the amount of additional checking and verification required, the council aims to pay all grants within four weeks.
Schools
Advice from York Council
The Government has advised that from Monday 1 June a phased return for early years settings and schools should take place where it is possible to do so safely, with pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 returning to school in smaller classes.
The city is taking a partnership approach to ensure that the changes are gradual and are based on robust risk assessments. As part of the York Schools and Academies Board (YSAB), the council is supporting schools and engaging with unions. All are prioritising the health, safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff.
Risk assessments have been being carried out at every school in the city to determine whether they can safely increase attendance from 1 June. Cleaning regimes are being put in place as part of those risk assessments, and personal protective equipment (PPE) has been delivered to Early Years settings and schools.
Schools will be guided by the number of staff they have available, size of their buildings and any other relevant issues when taking decisions about how many children they can have on site to maintain social distancing requirements. York’s schools will continue to prioritise places for the children of key workers and vulnerable children – numbers in these groups will determine the pace of re-opening for additional year groups from 1 June. In practice, this will mean that not all schools in the city will be admitting additional year groups on 1 June, but all will continue to be open for vulnerable and key workers’ children who are encouraged to attend school.
Any decision to extend the opening of schools to additional year groups is being taken by headteachers, schools’ governing bodies or trustees following their risk assessments. They will be in contact with parents and carers to confirm the arrangements for their school including any changes to the timing of the school day.