FOUR further deaths have been announced by the York Hospital Trust today. One occurred on Friday, one on Saturday and two yesterday. The second wave death toll at the York and Scarborough hospitals has now reached 61.
The have been THIRTY SEVEN (37) new positive test results announced today. That brings the total to 5489
The infection rate continues to gradually reduce in the City and is now less than a third of the rate seen at the peak on 16th October.
Two neighbourhoods in York remain above average rates. This is partly because we are continuing to see a reduction in case numbers at county, regional and national levels.
Restrictions to be eased
England’s second national lockdown will be lifted on 2 December when a revised three-tiered system of restrictions will allow shops, gyms and hairdressers to reopen across the country.
Lockdown will end a week on Wednesday, following a month of tougher national instructions.
The lifting of the national lockdown from 2 December will see:
Non-essential shops, hairdressers, gyms and leisure facilities reopen across the whole of England
Collective worship, weddings and all outdoor sports can resume, subject to social distancing, across the whole of England
The “rule of six” will return – meaning people will no longer be limited to seeing only one other person in outdoor public – across the whole of England
The previous 10pm curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants will be extended to 11 pm, with last orders at 10pm. But new rules mean pubs operating under Tier 2 can only trade if customers have a “substantial meal”. And in Tier 3, pubs must shut and can only sell goods for takeaway.
In Tier 1 and 2 areas (likely to include York) limited numbers will be allowed back into spectator stadiums.
In Tier 1, 50% capacity or 4,000 spectators – whichever is lower – will be allowed in outdoor venues, with a maximum 1,000 indoors.
In Tier 2, 50% capacity or 2,000 spectators – whichever is lower, will be allowed in outdoor venues, with a maximum 1,000 indoors.
Whether the new LNER community stadium at Monks Cross is complete and can actually now be brought into use remains to be seen.
People in England will also now be able to travel abroad for holidays once again from 2 December, although they will remain subject to quarantine rules.
It is unclear whether there will be any enforced restrictions on travel from high to low infection rate areas within the UK. The government talks of “guidance”. That could be a critical issue in York if large numbers seek to travel to the City in the run up to Christmas. There is anxiety that an influx could push up local infection rates.
In Tier 1 areas, people will still be urged to work from home wherever possible.
Theatres will have to close in the top tier of restrictions, with audience capacity limits set for venues in tiers where performances are permitted.
The tiers that areas are allocated to will be announced on Thursday.
University students in England will be urged to take two Covid tests, three days apart, to cut the risk of spreading infection when they travel home for Christmas. These are lateral flow tests with rapid results – with those testing negative expected to leave university within the following 24 hours. The pre-Christmas testing is expected to start in York next week. But testing will remain voluntary.
Rules on gatherings and travel over the festive period are still yet to be confirmed.
TWO additional deaths at the York Hospital Trust were announced today. The fatalities occurred on Wednesday. It brings the cumulative second wave total at the York and Scarborough Hospitals to 57.
FOURTY (40) additional positive test results announced today. Brings the cumulative total to 5452
The latest verified, 7 day rolling, average number of new cases is now 46.1. That is the lowest rate since 1st October.
To put the figure into context it is still almost twice the highest rate (29.1) seen, during the first wave of the pandemic, on 5th May.
The highest rate recorded during the second wave (so far) has been the 133.9 which was seen on 16th October.
For the first time since September no neighbourhood in York is above the 300 cases per 100k population threshold
The New Earswick neighbourhood has had a consistent downward trend for several weeks and now has only one case.
The case numbers in other neighbourhoods, including Heslington and Poppleton/Rufforth/Askhams, are trending downwards
The case rate is reducing at City, County, Regional and national level.
There have been THREE additional deaths announced by the York Hospital Trust today. Two occurred on Thursday and one yesterday. This brings the total second wave fatality toll at York and Scarborough hospitals to 55.
THIRTY ONE new positive test results announced today bringing the case total to 5412.
Today sees the first significant reduction in case numbers since Lockdown 2 was introduced. The weekly case rate number is below 50 for the first time for seven weeks.
Case numbers are also continuing to decline at county, regional and national level.
Most neighbourhoods, including Heslington and Fulford Road, are now seeing reduced numbers of cases.
There has been a recent spike in the Clifton Without/Skelton neighbourhood
THREE (3) additional deaths announced by York Hospital Trust today. Two occurred on Wednesday and one yesterday. Brings second wave total fatalities at York and Scarborough hospitals to 52
THIRTY SIX (36) additional positive test results announced today bringing the cumulative total for the City to 5381
Most neighbourhoods remain below the regional and national averages.
There has been a spike in cases recently in the Clifton North area.
Case numbers at Heslington are beginning to fall again
Otherwise the slow gradual downward trend in case numbers continues. This is now matched at county, regional and national level.
Lockdown impact on case numbers
It may be worth remembering, as we start to assess the impact of lockdown 2 on York, that it took 2 months before case numbers peaked during the first lockdown period in the spring.
The second wave of infections in the City was already trending down before, first Tier 2 then full lockdown, restrictions were introduced.
However, the peak infection rate has, and remains, much higher than was seen in the spring. There is still a long way to go and it could be well into next year before infection rates start to reflect first wave exit numbers.
7 day rolling case number averages. First wave (March – June) compared to Second wave (Sept – Nov)
First lockdown started 16th March
First lockdown eased from 13th May.
York enters Tier 2 restrictions 17th October
Second lockdown starts 5th November
Source of infections
PHE has published some data indicating where victims may have come into contact with the virus. This is national data extracted from the the NHS App. and covered the period between 9th and 15th November. We believe that this information should also be published at a local level.
The major contact areas are revealed as supermarkets and schools. It is not suggested that these were the locations where victims caught the virus.
Surplus food distribution very popular
We understand that as many as 70 people have been attending the surplus food distribution sessions at the Foxwood Community Centre. Sessions take place twice a week.
More help for businesses
The York Council has announced how it proposes to allocate the Additional Restrictions Grant of £4,212,360 which it it has received as a one-off payment from the government. It must cover the current lockdown, any future national lockdown, and any period when York might be subject to local Tier 3 restrictions before the end of financial year 2021/22.
For businesses that predominantly supply their goods and services the Government’s Inter Departmental Business Register shows there to be approximately 250 businesses in scope in York. Some are wholesalers to nonessential retail, while others are the greengrocers, fishmongers, butchers, commercial laundries, cleaning contractors and others who provide services to hospitality and accommodation providers. A further related sector is companies who work with venues and hospitality providers to arrange events – can also be thought of as suppliers
For those with fixed commercial premises costs – rent payable to a landlord – a payment of £1,334 per 28-day qualifying restriction period (base level of LRSG(Closed) payments)
For those without fixed premises costs, a payment of £500 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.
The official number of rough sleepers in York has fallen to three and Covid-secure emergency winter beds are available to help people off the streets.
Arrangements are in place to ensure the welfare of rough sleepers this winter, including beds available in addition to the regular emergency accommodation. In line with guidelines to minimise the transmission of the virus, this accommodation is to support even more people off the streets, rather than sleeping rough and vulnerable to even more danger in the coldest months.
York goes above and beyond the national ‘severe weather scheme’ by making these beds available whether or not it’s freezing. We also accept rough sleepers’ dogs in a number of our hostels in York, and have done so since 2000.
Officers from the Salvation Army and the council are constantly working with people on the streets to bring them into the accommodation they need. Some of the winter beds offered are at council hostels where partner agencies and volunteer groups give extra support including providing food or clothing over the winter months.
In all emergency accommodation, people are offered help to address any issues which may have led them to becoming homeless. This includes referral to services for mental health or substance misuse, as well as training for work and how to manage a lasting tenancy. Once that stage is successfully underway, people are offered accommodation with less support before, hopefully, they move into private or affordable fully-independent homes.
Rough Sleeper services are operating as usual: for a bed, please go to 63 Lawrence Street before midday or call 01904 416562.
Anyone who sees a person sleeping rough can ring Streetlink on 0300 500 0194 which will alert us to visit the location and offer support. Many other ways to help people off the streets can be found at www.york.gov.uk/roughsleeping
Basically, as far as the general, population is concerned, it will be “oldest first” to get the vaccine starting with care home residents, then the over 80’s
Hope is that first supplies will be available before Christmas. Facilities like the Moor Lane flu centre could be utilised
University and mass testing plans
We understand that mass testing facilities will be available at the local Universities from 30th November. The management there intend to offer tests to every student who intends to travel home from 3rd December. The “lateral flow” system will be used which provides almost immediate results (30 mins). The Universities will stagger leaving days and times in the expectation that many students will be picked up by family or friends.
The Universities are still talking about welcoming back students to the City in January.
NHS will be tested twice a week using the same system.
Targeted testing may be directed to check family members wishing to visit care home residents. Other priorities would include the social care workforce, schools, workplaces with an outbreak and later to allow events to take place.
Separately, York has “expressed an interest” to government in undertaking mass testing. This may be managed by focusing at one location but may be supplemented by local centres or even mobile facilities. The testing could continue for 6 months depending on when a vaccine was rolled out.
There is a suggestion that having a positive test (passport) may become a condition for having greater freedoms.
Deaths and test results
No further hospital deaths announced today.
“Only” 32 (THIRTY TWO) new positive test results announced today. This is the lowest for over 2 months and may be the first evidence that the “lockdown” is having a positive effect. The cumulative number of cases is now 5291.
Slow reduction in case numbers in the City continues
There was also a small reduction in cases reported at county and regional level.
There are still 5 neighbourhoods above the national case rate average. They are Heslington, Fulford Road, Wigginton, Huntington and (following a recent spike) Poppleton
Six neighbourhoods are now showing single digit case numbers.
Outbreak Management Board meeting
The agenda and some background papers for todays meeting have now been published. The meeting can be viewed “on line”
THREE (3) additional York Hospital Trust deaths announced today. One occurred on Saturday and two yesterday. The cumulative second wave fatality total for the York and Scarborough hospitals is now 45.
The Citywide figures for York shows an increase in the number of cases in the City. This is almost entirely down to the upward trend in Heslington.
Overall the number of cases in the City remains below the county, regional and national levels
However in five neighbourhoods levels are above the national average. They are Heslington, Fulford Road, Wigginton, Huntington and Poppleton. The latter two have risen quite quickly in recent days.
On the other hand, case numbers in the Westfield area have fallen during recent days
The government web site is claiming an additional 702 cases today. That is more than was recorded during the whole of the first wave peak.
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
It appears that the government has changed the way in which it records cases. It has retrospectively changed the figures back to the beginning of September (!). The daily new cases figure for today is therefore misleading.
From 16 November 2020, PHE has updated the way it records the location of people who test positive or negative for COVID-19. It now prioritises addresses given at the point of testing over the details registered on a patient’s NHS Summary Care Record. This better reflects the distribution of cases and testing.
However, it may give rise to differences in previously reported numbers of cases and rates in some areas. The change has been retrospectively applied to tests carried out from 1 September 2020, and data in the dashboard was updated to reflect this change on 16 November 2020. Due to reallocation of cases in this way, the number of cases reported by local authority may be artificially high or low on 16 November 2020.
The effect in York is quite dramatic. Instead of a cumulative case figure of 4555 we now see a figure of 5207. The 5000 case milestone was passed on 10th November. Looking back, the daily number of York positive test results peaked at 139 on 13th October.
The per 100k pop figure reached 449.9 a couple of days later.
The following table and graphs reflect the new government supplied figures.
Given that tactical decisions on how to combat the spread of the virus have been taken based on the old figures, we think that some further explanation of this mistake should be made by the authorities.
“Close campus” call
The recent increase in Coronavirus case numbers in Heslington has led to renewed calls for the University campus to be closed. A York Councillor has written to the Director of Public Health suggesting that students should not return to the City after the winter break.
Instead they should pursue their course work via “on line” study.
It appears that student accommodation represents a particularly vulnerable transmission environment for the virus.
It now seems increasingly likely that a vaccine will be rolled out early next year. Students could then gradually return to the University after immunisation.
The move would be a bold one and might not be welcomed by some employed in student service and support industries. It may, however, be necessary if infection rates continue to rise.
It seems increasingly unlikely that the City could return to Tier 1 status on 3rd December as this could prompt an influx of visitors from more heavily infected areas.
Scarborough, with a rapidly increasing number of COVID cases, has already issued a “stay away” message to visitors.
TWO more deaths at the York Hospital Trust announced today. One occurred on Friday and the other yesterday. That brings the cumulative second wave fatality total, at the York and Scarborough hospitals, to 42.
FIFTY TWO (52) addition positive test results announced today bringing the cumulative total for the City to 4505
The infection rate in the City is now more stable
At neighbourhood level it is very much a case of a “tale of two City’s”. Most areas are stable and remain below the national infection rate average.
Others including Heslington, Fulford Road, Wigginton, Holgate Eat and Huntington have begun to trend upwards. Based on previous experience such fluctuations are to be expected albeit these areas will require careful monitoring.
ONE further death at York Hospital Trust announced today. It occurred on Thursday. The total death toll, at York and Scarborough hospitals, is now 40 since second COVID wave hit the area in late in September.
45 (FOURTY FIVE) additional positive test results were announced today.
Unfortunately the infection trend now is upwards in parts of the City with several neighbourhoods now above the national average. These are Heslington, Holgate East, South Bank and Wigginton.
Following a spike, the largest number of cases can now be found in the Fulford Road/Clementhorpe area.
On a more positive note, Osbaldwick now has the lowest number of cases recorded in any York neighbourhood since the beginning of October.
SIX additional deaths announced by York Hospital Trust today. This is the highest single day figure since the start of the second wave.
70 (SEVENTY) new positive test results announced today. This is the largest for over a week. Brings total number of cases to 4408
The blip may have originated in Heslington where – for the first time this week – an increase in the number of positive test results has pushed the neighbourhood above the national average infection rate. It is the only York area now in this category.
The results of the national lockdown could start to influence trends next week, so many will be watching the outcome with some anxiety.
York overall however remains below the national, regional and county case rate average.
Coronavirus related deaths at York and Scarborough hospitals
There has been ONE additional death announced today by the York Hospital Trust. It occurred yesterday (11th).
There have been 56 (FIFTY SIX) new positive test results announced today
The number of cases in the City continues to reduce slowly.
There has been a spike in infections in the South Bank and Dringhouses neighbourhood.
Other areas continue to be at or below the national average
3541 P2 tests were carried out in the City last week. Around 11% were positive.
Mass testing
The York Council has issued the following statement from Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health, about the opportunity for mass testing in York.
Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health, said:
We can confirm that City of York Council has not rejected the offer of mass testing and in fact, we are working to develop our proposals for introducing mass testing in the city.
Directors of Public Health have been asked to submit expressions of interest to test 10% of our local population on a weekly rolling basis, which will mean testing approximately 20,000 residents every week in York.
This is something new that we have never done before and so we wanted to take time to plan how this new testing programme can be delivered effectively and in a safe way. Anyone testing positive will need to be referred into our local contact tracing service and so, we also need some time to expand the service in order to accept more referrals.
We are currently taking on board learning from the approach taken in Liverpool and we are working on our ‘expression of interest’ proposals, which will be presented to the Outbreak Management Advisory Board next week for consideration, after which the proposal will be submitted to the Department for Health and Social Care.
In the meantime, anyone with symptoms of coronavirus can arrange a free test by visiting https://www.nhs.uk/coronavirusor calling 119″
City of York Council is once again thanking businesses and residents in the city and asking people to continue their efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
Since the 7 day rate of cases per 100,000 of population in York peaked at 309.6 on 20 October, the rate has recently fallen to 176.6 (as at 6 November). The rate in York is below the national and regional averages and is currently among the lowest in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.
The percentage of people who test positive after taking a community based (Pillar 2) test in York has fallen to 10.2% (as of 9 November) after a peak of 18% (on 15 October). The rate in York is currently lower than national and regional averages.
Council leaders are asking everyone to continue to practice Hands. Face. Space and self-isolate if they have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace to continue to reduce the number of cases.
In recent weeks the council has launched its local contact tracing programme to reach those the national system has been unable to.
Since then, the number of people being contacted to check they are ok and identify any contacts has increased substantially.
In the past two weeks, the council has reached well over 80% of contacts passed to them by the national test and trace service and the team are thankful for the support of residents who are contacted for this vital service.
A new animation to explain how the local test and trace system works is now available on youtube and will be added to the council website.
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council said:
This has been a challenging and uncertain period for everyone. One thing we can guarantee is that the people of this city will look after each other and we should be incredibly proud of that community spirit.
“Whilst it has been encouraging to see numbers falling in recent weeks, we cannot afford to be complacent as we have seen cases rise in other parts of the region and country.
“Our hope is that by the end of these national restrictions, if we continue our efforts, we can emerge at the lowest level of local restrictions.”
Sharon Stoltz, Director for Public Health said:
The news of potential vaccines being effective is encouraging however, until they are approved and mass vaccination is taking place, we can’t afford to be complacent.
“Recent weeks have seen a fall in the number of cases thanks to the efforts of people in the city. We want to continue to drive the numbers down further in the coming weeks.
“Washing our hands, wearing a face covering in busy public spaces and keeping a 2m distance from those you don’t live with remain as important as ever. As is self-isolating when you have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace. These methods remain our best way of stopping the spread and keeping the people we love safe.”
Businesses urged to register for grants
City of York Council is urging eligible businesses to register for government grants now the application process has opened today, 12 November.
The latest Government grants cover both the brief period York was in Tier 2 restrictions and the current national lockdown. Council officers have been quickly working to set up the process after the government issued detailed guidance on delivering the three new grant schemes, which had been announced over the previous weeks.
The government-prescribed grant allocations, cover:
The period of national lockdown;
The brief period whilst York was in Tier 2 of local restrictions;
The new grant for sectors which have received no previous government support
Businesses will soon be able to apply for the following grants:
Lockdown Local Restriction Scheme
Business forced to close by law under national lockdown from 5 November will receive:
For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;
For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks.
Tier 2 Local Restriction Scheme
Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors, B&Bs and hotels will receive a proportion of the following monthly grants to reflect the 19 days spent in Tier 2:
For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants of £934 per month
For properties with a rateable value above £15k and below £51k, grants of £1,400 per month
For properties with a rateable value of £51k or above, grants of £2,100 per month
Sector support
A new government grant aimed at businesses which have not previously received support, including nightclubs, dance halls, and discotheques was introduced from 1 November 2020. However, this will be superseded from 5 November by the lockdown restriction scheme.
For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants of £667 per 14-day period
For properties with a rateable value above £15k and below £51k, grants of £1,000 per 14-day period
For properties with a rateable value of £51k or above, grants of £1,500 per 14-day period
The council has also been in extensive discussions with representative groups across the city to develop proposals for an additional discretionary fund given to local authorities by the government.
The council held an emergency decision of the executive member for finance and performance today (12 November), outlining how the fund could be used to support businesses which are forced to shut in the current lockdown, but miss out on the government funding, including:
Providing equivalent grants to the supply chains of business forced to close
Offering direct grants of up to £1334 per month for businesses which have to close but don’t pay rates
A voucher scheme to be spent on effective local business support
A small fund to support future events or works to bring customers to businesses
More details on the application process for these grants will be available soon. Register for business updates on the Council website at https://www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates, and you will be updated when applications go live.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said:
Council staff have once again put in a huge effort to get these schemes live exceptionally quickly, and are ready to distribute these latest government grants to businesses.
“In the summer they distributed over £110m of support, resulting in York being one of the fastest paying councils during the first national lockdown. Businesses can rest assured that this is once again our aim. They can help us do this by providing all the relevant information that is required for fraud checks and waiting patiently for grants, contacting us to check on progress will only slow down payments.
“I’d also like to thank all the partners, business leaders and lots of individual businesses which have helped us to develop the discretionary scheme. All the government guidance suggests that the £4.2m discretionary fund will have to cover all business support activity until March 2022. Working together I think we’ve quickly found the fairest and most effective way to support those businesses which are deeply affected by COVID but have missed out on government support.”
Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the economy and strategic planning, said:
I’m pleased to see that after months of active lobbying for more urgent and comprehensive support for businesses, that we are now in a position to distribute these grants to businesses who urgently need them.
“This funding will go some way to protecting hundreds of York businesses and jobs, sectors like retail, and some self-employed/micro businesses are set to miss out. That being said I would urge businesses who have fallen through the cracks and will not benefit from these new announcements, to please contact us as soon as possible at economicgrowth@york.gov.uk and we will continue to raise these ongoing issues with the Government and regional partners.
“There is also a lot more local support for businesses beyond these grants. Please get in touch with Make it York, York BID or the Federation of Small Businesses as soon as possible to find out more.”
To get notification when grant applications open, and up to date info on other business support, sign up for our regular bulletins here www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates
