Deaths and test results
So no further positive test results or York Hospital Trust deaths yesterday (10/7/20).
The York Council has so far not provided any reports on the effectiveness of the COVID 19 test result process. By now we would have expected to see at least the number of contacts identified per positive test result and the number who have been spoken to.
Lock-down eased further
Outdoor theatres and swimming pools will be able to open, along with recreational sports.
Dance studios and sports like badminton and volleyball together with indoor pools, gyms, nail bars and sports facilities will reopen 25th July
There will be restrictions on numbers in gyms and pools and people will be encouraged to shower and change at home where possible, though changing rooms will be open.
Club cricket can also resume from this Saturday, 11 July, with “a limited number of spectators” allowed and clubhouse bars will be able to open, subject to social distancing rules.
There is no word yet on when other spectator sports will be able to admit spectators and under what conditions.
Deaths and test results
There has been another positive coronavirus test result in York. This brings the total to 903.
There have been no further deaths in the York Hospital Trust area.
Deaths and test results
Good news today with no more hospital deaths and no new positive COVID 19 test results.
The number of hospital deaths remains at 214 (7/7/20). It has remained at this figure for over 3 weeks.
The cumulative number of positive tests results remains at 902 (7/7/20). The last positive result was announced on Saturday.
National announcements on housing and hospitality
Deaths and test results
The number of positive virus test results in York continues to edge up.
It has now topped 900 cumulative cases.
Better news on deaths where no more have been recorded at York Trust hospitals.
The total remains at 214.
Household waste sites – appointments still needed.
Just a reminder that the York Council is still asking residents to make an appointment if they wish to use the household waste site at Hazel Court. The Council said that they would be phasing out the requirement in the light of low user numbers.
Mansion House reopening to public
The Mansion House will be reopening for guided tours on Wednesday 22nd July.
The managers say, “From next week, we will be launching an online booking page, where it will be possible to book onto a 45 minute guided tour, which will run throughout the day from Wednesday to Sunday. On each tour we will allow no more than six people, so we can stay in complete control of distancing, and deliver the best experience possible”.
Test results and deaths
The government has revised its stats to show an additional positive test result in the York area on 29th June. This took the cumulative total to 899.
There has still not been any comment from the authorities about the success or otherwise of the contact tracing process in the local area. The next meeting of the York Councils “outbreak management board” is not due to take place for another week.
The cumulative total of deaths at York Trust hospitals remains at 214.
Where is the plan?
Some traders are reporting that takings yesterday were down compared to the previous Saturday.
The Council has been criticised for multiple failures with its parking strategy. It appears that the “phone only” 2 hours free parking was not applied if a shopper tried to pay for an extra hour (they were liable to be billed at full rate for the first 2 hours).
As we said when the scheme first started it was simply to complicated to be understood by casual visitors (even assuming that they had downloaded the mobile RingGo parking app).
Key shoppers car parks like Castle & Marygate were excluded from the scheme.
The Council compounded the problem by saying that the Castle car park would be closed, but without saying when. (They need to forget that idea for at least 12 months. This would give the City centre economy time to recover and for alternatives to become established)
Some traders have suggested that there should be free parking at all car parks from 3:00pm each day. That would at least have the merit of being understandable (and would also help the evening economy).
The Councils’ preferred alternative transport mode – cycling- still suffers from a lack of secure parking. This is also an acute issue at some suburban shopping locations.
The provision of additional “social distancing” space – at the expense of highways and car parking – has been largely random. In most cases like Marygate car park the provision has mostly been ignored by users.
In others, contraflow cycle lanes have introduced additional hazards.
All in all then, the lack of a thought through recovery strategy is becoming of more concern each day.
Marketing alone will not be enough.
In an occasional lucid moment the York Council has displayed some advertising flair. Not least with the widely applauded “Don’t be a Tosser” anti litter campaign.
They may also say that people are right to be very cautious about visiting busy locations. They would be right in saying that safety must come first.
But that doesn’t excuse the absence of a 3 – 6 month revitalisation strategy.
As regulations allow; arts, music, poetry, comedy and sports should come to open spaces throughout the City. Sub-urban areas and villages must be included. Most shops, takeaways, restaurants and hairdressers in those areas have now reopened.
They – like the arts – have had little support from the authorities.
A festival atmosphere would provide a huge lift for the morale of residents and visitors alike. It should encompass large visitor magnets like the Minster, Museums and Guildhalls.
But it does needs to start quickly now.
Deaths and test results
There have been no further deaths at York Trust hospitals The total (3/7/20) remains at 214. The last death was recorded on 18th June.
The cumulative total of positive test results (public + private centres) remains at 898 (2/7/20).
Modest increase in visitor numbers today
There appears to have been a small increase in the numbers of people on City centre streets today compared to last Saturday. Some pubs have opened and there are outside cafe tables available on Parliament Street. Most visitors seem to be adopting a cautious approach and are observing social distancing requests. Few are wearing face masks.
There has been come criticism of the Councils “2 hours of free parking” initiative which one trader described as impenetrably complex. The deal doesn’t apply to the main shopper car parks like Castle and Marygate.
Births, deaths and marriages
York Council announces changes at York Register Office and York Crematorium
In line with the easing of government restrictions from 4 July, York Register Office will reopen for weddings and civil partnerships and the Crematorium will welcome more people from this weekend.
Since government restrictions were imposed in March, the council has regularly kept how services at the crematorium can continue under review, with the health and safety of mourners, funeral directors and staff our priority.
Recent government advice means that we are delighted that weddings are able to resume from 4 July the council has been working on plans so that the Register Office can safely hold marriages.
York Crematorium
As part of the updated government advice and taking into account social distancing measures required as well as the ever-present risks relating to the spread of Coronavirus, the Crematorium can now welcome up to eighteen people excluding the funeral director and clergy or celebrant in the main crematorium chapel.
Due to the size of the small chapel and the need to maintain social distancing, the number in the small chapel is being kept at five.
Numerous safety measures remain in place.
The council will also be working with funeral directors and staff to review how the changes to the 2m rule may work in practice to potentially allow higher numbers of mourners to attend.
Once the restrictions have been fully lifted, the council will ensure that services of remembrance at York Crematorium will be offered to all families and a city-wide multi-faith remembrance ceremony will be held, supported by local faith leaders and the Council.
York Minster has also confirmed that a special memorial service to comfort relatives and friends bereaved during the Coronavirus pandemic will take place at the Minster, when such events can take place.
York Register Office
Weddings are returning to York Register Office this weekend.
Initially the Register Office have and will sort bookings for those who booked a wedding or civil partnership before the pandemic struck and will be in touch with all couples to offer them the opportunity to get married.
As with other Register Offices in the region that are able to reopen and in line with government advice, the council is maintaining the 2m social distancing. This means initially 8 guests (excluding the couple and officiants) will be allowed in the large room in use, in addition to the small witness only weddings which remain as two witnesses only as normal.
While it is not possible to safely accommodate higher numbers at the register office the council is actively seeking alternative venues that would allow 30 people to attend and will make further announcements should this be possible.
Six weddings are booked for this weekend and we hope the couples have a fantastic day and happy marriage.
Playgrounds to reopen
Playgrounds in York will start reopening from July 8th
About 80 play areas and outdoor gyms across the city have been closed since mid March. The council will start a phased reopening of playgrounds – with social distancing and risk assessments
More details can be found in this report click
Safety barriers have already been removed from some of the equipment on Chesneys Field.
Household waste site appointments being scrapped.
The Council has said that it will shortly discontinue the requirement to book an appointment before a resident visits a household waste site
Council writes to Blue Badge holders
The York Council says that it has written to all 7,500 York Blue Badge Holders this week. The mailing provides details on what support is available to help badge holders access the city centre, including the 40 replacement Blue Badge bays in Monk Bar car park
UPDATED Deaths and test results
1700 hrs UPDATE – The government has now changed the figures on its web site. The cumulative total (at 2/7/20) is now 898 with two additional cases recorded on 29th June and one on 1st July.
The government has finally updated its web site to include “pillar 2” test results. These are the tests carried out at centres like the Poppleton Park and Ride site.
The good news is that, as of 1/7/20, there had been no new positive test results for 4 days in York.
That is the longest period with only negative results since early March.
The source data can be viewed by clicking here. An extract is reproduced below.
The failure of the authorities to make this information available promptly is one of the most disappointing aspects of the current health crisis.
NB. Tests in the UK are carried out through a number of different routes:
See the government’s national testing strategy for more information on the different pillars.
Attention is now likely to switch to the accessibility of information on pillar 3 and 4 data.
We also await the York Councils comments on the success, or otherwise, of local contact tracing arrangements.
As well as the absence of recent positive test results, another piece of good news is that there have been no further deaths at local hospitals (1/7/20) as a result of COVID-19. The last death was recorded on 18th June.
How busy is the City centre?
The “footfall” information for York City centre camera sites is still being updated on the “open data” web site. The data has been criticised over recent months when it was discovered that some cameras had been disconnected and the data company responsible had extrapolated data from other cameras to fill in the gaps.
It is unfortunate that this issue wasn’t remedied before lock-down occurred
Nevertheless it, together with mobile phone activity, is the only measure that we have of the numbers of people visiting the City centre.
The data suggests that, during June, the number of visitors to the City centre had fallen by 84% compared to the same month in 2019.
However, by the final day of the month that reduction had fallen to 62%.
That probably reflects the gradual reopening of shops and other facilities, together with the launch of an embryonic marketing campaign.
Tomorrow will see sections of the hospitality trade reopening with some cafes hoping to provide outdoor tables, while pub beer gardens may be popular if the weather improves.
So a critical weekend ahead for the City.
Micro grant scheme puts over £2m into small York business accounts
City of York Council’s extended small and micro business grant scheme is on course to deliver another £2.2m to York businesses which fell through the cracks of government support packages.
The scheme closed earlier this week and has now awarded a total of just over £1.92m to 558 businesses, with another 113 applications pending or yet to be processed.
The grant extension follows an earlier £1m grants scheme which gave vital financial aid or access to services through membership of the Federation of Small Businesses to 800 York businesses.
Grants payments were offered to support a wide variety of 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 are also eligible.
Council policy on business rent payments
Plans are in place for financial support to continue for those businesses and residents who pay council fees or rents.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic started the council has been committed to supporting businesses and residents through this unprecedented time. Plans are being put in place to ensure support continues for those who need it most.
Three months on from announcing the first financial assistance schemes, the council wants to reassure people that the existing support will still be available for those who require it. Detailed plans are being finalised and will be taken to a decision session later this month.
In April the council announced:
In order to support more residents in need from this month (July), a new hardship fund will be established for council tenants affected by rent increases. An initial sum of £80,000 is being set aside and will be kept under review should further funds be required. Council housing tenants who can pay rent as usual, will be asked to pay the agreed increased rent charge. Those who can’t will be encouraged to talk to housing officers and will be able to apply to the hardship fund.
Commercial tenants will be able to benefit from a deferral of rent for a further three months, if required. The council will also ensure repayments can be made over an extended period of up to two years.
From July, the council will write to all its commercial tenants to discuss any financial support available to them.
More information leaks out
This graph, which includes Pillar 2 test results, was apparently leaked by the York Council last night to some local journalists. You won’t find it on the Council web site.
It is shocking that the government suppressed the data for so long. The peaks in late April and in May were matters of public interest.
There is no process in place for publicly updating the information on a daily basis (unlike Pillar 1 test results).
There has been no update on the progress being made in tracing the contacts of those who have recently tested positive.
No information has been provided on the results of Pillar 3 testing (which looks for traces of anti bodies in a victim).
There have been no additional deaths at local hospitals and no additional (Pillar 1) positive lab test results this week.
90 Asylum seekers to be accommodated in York Hotel
A government agency intends to house 90 single asylum seekers in a York hotel. The plan was considered in a “behind closed doors” meeting.
No costs will fall on local taxpayers. It is unclear whether those arriving in the City will be subject to a coronavirus test.
Askham Bar Park and Ride reopening from Sunday
Services linking Askham Bar to the City centre will operate every 15 minutes at weekends and Monday-Friday every 10 minutes during the peak and 15 minutes during the day.
Sunday frequency is also being increased to 15 minutes from the current 30-minute intervals at three other Park & Ride sites: Rawcliffe Bar, Designer Outlet and Monks Cross, with routes to the city centre. This increases further to every 12 minutes on Sundays from July 12.
Deaths and test results
The reintroduction of a lock-down in Leicester has prompted some sections of the media to speculate that York may be next on the governments list.
In reality, and according to the governments own web site, positive test results remain low in York.
There were two positive results during the week ending 26th June but those were the only cases recorded during the last 4 weeks. The figures do not include local test results (pillar 2) which are still not being made available to the public.
By comparison, Leicester has seen over 150 cases during the same period.
Leicester has a larger population (329,000) than York (208,000)
There have been no further deaths recorded at York Trust hospitals this week
Poll boost for local government?
The Local Government Association has published the results of a residents poll which it says is good news for local Councils. Residents views of government have become more positive during the Coronavirus crisis. The results are based on a sample of only 1000 respondents and are not therefore reliable to individual local authority level. The results can be read by clicking here.
Deaths and cases
There have been no further deaths from coronavirus at York Trust hospitals. The last fatality – which brought the total to 214 – occurred on 18th June.
There have been no further positive test results (24/6/20). The last positive lab result was reported on 21st June. It brought the cumulative total to 463
Treasure Hunt restarts
York Treasure hunt is operating again.
Details click here Treasure Hunt York
