Mystery deepens as Poppleton COVID 19 test results leaked to media

As recently as 21st June the York Council said that it hadn’t been given the results of COVID 19 tests carried out at the Poppleton Park and Ride testing centre.

The centre had opened on 24th April.  Almost immediately there were claims that the test results for local centres “were disappearing into a black hole”. Around 5000 tests were carried out during the first 10 days of operation of the new centre. Officials remained tight lipped about the outcomes. Local MPs were urged to lift the blanket of confidentiality and some local reporters also lobbied for more openness

Yesterday, the local York Director of Health confirmed to the media that they had received the figures.

She revealed that as of June 27 there were 424 positive coronavirus tests confirmed through, what is known as, the “Pillar 2” testing programme. Added to the lab test reports already published, that meant that there had been a total of 887 cases in the City.

Significantly there were nine positive test results recorded through Pillar 2 data in the past week.

The Council didn’t say how well its contact tracing service was performing.

The Financial Times has said that Pillar 2 results now comprise the largest proportion of positive tests across the country

This is the latest in a series of communications failures by central and local government. It was several weeks into to crisis before  daily updates were provided on deaths and test results (Pillar 1) . Both sets of stats are now updated at Council/Hospital Trust level each day.

The absence of  data from the commercial test sites and home testing means that residents still have only a partial picture.

It is not surprising that there were many positive results at Poppleton. The centre initially started out testing key workers and then moved on to test those who were suffering from COVID symptoms.

What is extraordinary is that it has taken so long for a glimpse of the results to leak out.

We have seen a copy of an email in which a Council official had yesterday  said to a resident

“Although we now have access to pillar 2 data, as a council we are not allowed to publish it. It is to be used for internal planning purposes only”.

A couple of hours later, the Council was forced to release a comment after the figures were leaked.

Some other Councils are believed to be routinely publishing the information while MPs are now also being briefed. They may be the source of the leaked information

Whatever the source, the time has come for the Council leadership to allay growing concerns that the secrecy covering this issue has a sinister motive.

The infection rate in York is below the regional and national averages. That is good news which should be shared

The Council must agree to update residents on the progress being made in tracing the contacts of the recently revealed cases.

They must also ensure that local daily briefings on all test results (Pillars 1,2,3 and 4) are made public  and quickly.

Coronavirus York updates; 26th April 2020

Consumer spending

Tortoise have updated their consumer spending tables. They are now live here  CLICK They reveal that York’s retail sector has been badly affected by the Coronavirus clampdown. The City is the 19th worst affected of 172 areas surveyed antionally. Scarborough (14th) and Whitby (7th)  are also badly affected.

The York Council’s Executive will be meeting shortly. We would expect to see them discussing a first draft of an economic recovery plan for the City.

Coronavirus deaths

THREE more people with coronavirus have died at hospitals within the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The three further deaths brings the total for the trust to 104. The figure passed 100 for the first time yesterday when it stood at 101. The trust includes York Hospital and Scarborough.

Testing centre opens at Poppleton

A drive through coronavirus test centre opens in York today. The facility at Poppleton Park and Ride is open for NHS and other key workers on ly, and they’ll need to make an appointment.

Zoom warning

The police have issued the following warning for “Zoom” users.

As I am sure you are all aware, the use of the Zoom application has dramatically risen over the past few weeks with people using it to keep in touch, whether this be for business or social purposes.  However, Zoom is faced some scrutiny due to how insecure it is from a cyber and online perspective, leaving individuals and businesses vulnerable to online cyber attacks.  In response to this, the National Police Chiefs Council has issued some guidance around its use, which I have attached to this email

How Age UK York are supporting residents, with the help of council volunteers

To help relieve pressure on emergency services, volunteers from the council together with Age UK York are driving discharged hospital patients home.

To help relieve pressure on the emergency services, 25 volunteers from the council’s pool of volunteers who matched Age UK York’s criteria have been deployed to join the charity’s Home from Hospital service and their existing two volunteer drivers.

Suitably experienced volunteers with no underlying health conditions and who aren’t medically-shielding, can opt to transport patients who have had Covid-19. They will use personal protection equipment (PPE) and extra hygiene measures which follow Government guidelines. This includes drivers using 1,800 disposable plastic car seat covers kindly donated by garages:

  • Stoneacre Ford York
  • Vantage Toyota York
  • Butts of Bawtry
  • Fulford Auto Services

Another example of the city coming together. Find out more in this press release

Council bring public meetings online in response to extended lockdown

City of York Council will host the next Executive meeting online on 7 May 2020 (The agenda will be published on 29 April). Members of the public who want to speak at meetings will be encouraged to contact the Council’s Democratic Services Team, as usual, and register to speak.  Those who register to speak will then be provided further details on how they can dial into the public meeting and contribute.

Homelessness and housing update

 We are providing accommodation for all homeless households and individuals in the city now and will continue to do so beyond this emergency, as we normally do.

 In addition to using our own and partners’ hostel accommodation, we are currently supporting around 35 homeless households – a mix of families, couples and single people – in self-contained bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation offered to us during the emergency.

 Depending on each individual’s level of need, single people or rough sleepers are housed in a mix of existing hostels and bed and breakfasts, and in hotel rooms – all in single rooms to allow social distancing and self-isolation.

 All the rough sleepers we are supporting are already known to us and the vast majority have accepted the accommodation which each and every one is being offered. We continue to remind them of the lockdown’s requirements, and work hard to persuade them all to come into and stay in their accommodation.

 Rough Sleeper services are operating in the usual way. For a bed, please go to 63, Lawrence Street or call 01904 416562 or at evenings or weekends please call 01609 780780.

 We are continuing with our services for people who are concerned about becoming homeless and need our advice to help prevent homelessness. This is being done online or by phone on 01904 554500 or via www.york.gov.uk/homelessness/housing-options. These teams continue to help people facing homelessness through, for example, financial hardship, relationship breakdown or issues with private landlords. We’re also working with landlords across the city to support their tenants and minimise evictions. We’ve seen a slight rise in single people asking our preventative services for help which may be because they usually live with friends or family who now need to self-isolate.

 We’re prioritising our work to prepare empty council homes ready to re-let and are finding private rented accommodation harder to come by at the moment. We plan to continue working with hotels and B&Bs for the duration of the lockdown to keep people safely accommodated and we are working on plans to ensure that as we move out of lockdown everyone will have accommodation options. 

Where individuals do become homeless and sleep on the streets, we continue to offer tailored support. Whether it’s mental health support, dealing with drug or alcohol abuse, relationship breakdown or poverty, we try and help each individual into suitable accommodation and services. Once they start working with us and our partners in the city – like Changing Lives or the Salvation Army – we can address each person’s needs including getting benefits in place, training for work, money and tenancy management, before helping them into stable accommodation.

 While we carry on with this work, we’ve had to be increasingly innovative about safely supporting rough sleepers – especially those with more complex needs or challenging behaviours – while also maintaining social distancing for other clients and our staff. Like all other services, we’re doing more by phone and are prioritising emergencies. With York CVS we are signposting the charities we work with, including SASH, Carecent and Changing Lives, to apply for additional funding for voluntary groups.