The total (cumulative) number of people testing positive for coronavirus in York has remained at 462. This represents an infection rate of 220.1 cases per 100,000 people.
UPDATE; There have now been no COVID deaths at York hospitals since 29th May. The total for York and Scarborough remains at 210.
Some information is now available from the government about the trend in case numbers by local authority area. These are based on hospital tests and may not reflect the results from the Poppleton testing site (the results of which still haven’t been published).
Figures last updated on 5th June 2020
However, the picture is more encouraging now with infection numbers appearing to tail off.
Hopefully residents will help to consolidate the progress that has been made by the NHS and other professionals and will continue to observe strict social distancing and cleanliness standards.
A joint Public Health England and University of Cambridge study estimates the R rate for the North East and Yorkshire is 0.89. This is the lowest in the country.
Coronavirus cases in York since 1st January 2020
Face masks needed for hospital visits and public transport use
You’ll have to have a face mask if visiting York and Scarborough hospital from Monday, either as an out patient or a visit – and a surgical mask if you work there.
For the fifth successive day there have been no further deaths at the York hospital
Small business grant payments start – businesses encouraged to apply
City of York Council is encouraging eligible businesses to apply now for the upgraded scheme small and micro grant scheme, which has been created to support local businesses.
Grants payments between £1000 and £10,000 will support 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.
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
To apply, 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.
Grant payments are being processed in batches, with the first batch set to land in businesses accounts on Friday 5 June. The council is also telling businesses that have applied not to worry if they don’t receive their payment advice this weekend – there will be further payments every Friday over the next four weeks.
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said:
“I’m pleased to see that our local grants payments are already being paid to small and micro businesses across the city, in order to help them through this incredibly tough time.”
“York’s small and micro businesses are at the heart of our vibrant economy and I would urge businesses who are yet to apply, to get in touch and apply for the support as soon as possible. As restrictions are eased, more small and micro businesses are reopening, so we understand how important these cash injections can be.
“From the very beginning of this crisis, we have worked to ensure our local businesses received swift support from the Council, particularly those who did not meet the criteria for government support. I am pleased that City of York Council has been recognized as one of the fastest local authorities in the country to distribute grants and rates relief, totalling £33m so far.”
“We will continue to make the case to Government, with our partners, to lobby for further financial support to support all our businesses, particularly as we work to put in place the foundations of our economic recovery.”
Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the economy and strategic planning, said:
“Staff across the council have worked quickly to process grants, with payments landing in businesses bank accounts shortly after the announcement of the scheme.
“Considerable effort and resource has been deployed to carry out the required checks as quickly as possible, in order to get these payments to businesses who need them after falling through the cracks of government support.
“I’d encourage businesses to check the eligibility criteria for these grants and apply as soon as possible if they are able to do so. We are already seeing the positive affect they are having for businesses during this incredibly difficult period.
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 3,000 local businesses affected by coronavirus.
The council acted quickly to distribute £110m of grants and rates relief to over 4000 York businesses, and created its own £1m grant scheme to support over 1000 more businesses, 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, as to benefit as many businesses as possible in the city.
Companies that are in financial difficulties because they fall outside the Government set limits are asked to contact Make it York to discuss their options. They can email business@makeityork.comCOMMENT ON THIS PAGE
York Council celebrates all those caring for others
In Carers Week (8-14 June) the council is inviting health and care services, schools, employers and businesses to celebrate and support the vital contribution by unpaid carers across the city.
This year in particular, tribute is paid to the enormous contribution made by unpaid carers during the coronavirus pandemic. They continue to play an essential role supporting friends and family who are older, disabled or seriously ill.
Where social distancing or shielding means that carers can’t do what they usually do, volunteers across the city have come forward. They have helped ensure that vital food supplies and medication are delivered, and that companionship and caring welfare calls continue to help keep people cared for and in contact with others.
Many people have found that during lockdown they have had to take on more caring responsibilities than usual. The council is encouraging them to contact the city’s Carer’s Centre to benefit from the support and advice it gives 01904 715490 or email enquiries@yorkcarerscentre.co.uk.
Cllr Carol Runciman, executive member for health and adult social care, said: “This Carers Week, we want to thank carers across the city more so than ever, for the amazing part they play in these extraordinary and challenging times.
“During this pandemic, so many people in York are caring for all parts of our community in new and different ways. We’ve been celebrating them and their work and making them more visible through our #YorkKind campaign. I thank them all.”
Carole Zagrovic at York Carers Centre, said: “We are delighted to be part of Carers Week to highlight the huge contribution unpaid carers make throughout our communities, often with little recognition or support for themselves.
“Making Caring Visible is about all of us taking some time to think about what unpaid carers do. That can range from a few hours to pick up prescriptions or help with shopping to providing personal care day and night to a child, husband or wife with complex and worsening health conditions.
“This is the one week when we as a society can show our appreciation of the challenges carers face, particularly through this difficult time, and to acknowledge and respect their value in our communities.”
Four days without any additional COVID deaths in York
THERE have been no further coronavirus related deaths within the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recorded over the last 24 hours. The latest figures from NHS England confirm that the number of deaths within the trust has stayed at 210, for the fourth day running, meaning there have been no confirmed deaths recorded since Sunday. The trust includes York Hospital and Scarborough.
No more coronavirus hospital deaths have been reported this week. The total across the York and Scarborough hospitals remains at 210.
Safeguarding support for children updated and improved
Another step to further improve support for children and young people across the City of York has been taken.
Over 600 professionals from City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police, the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and local health organisations have helped update guidance which extends the city’s coordinated approach to safeguarding.
This threshold document clearly sets out for all agencies consistent safeguarding assessment levels, at what point early help or intervention for a child or its family is needed, and the level or intensity of that help or intervention.
Published by City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership, the guidance builds on cross-city work already underway by York’s multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) which was set up in July 2019.
Reporting concerns about the neglect or abuse of a child is now done through the MASH and the updated contact details are:
Anyone who is concerned about the welfare of a child should contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 01904 551900, Monday to Friday, 08:30-17:00, or you can email them at: mash@york.gov.uk
For out of office hours, weekends and on public holidays you can contact the emergency duty team (EDT) on 01609 780780 or email: edt@northyorks.gov.uk
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.”
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.
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
Following recent announcements from the government, City of York Council has confirmed the arrangements and work that is taking place to safely welcome more pupils to return to school from next week.
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.
If NHS Test and Trace calls you by phone, the service will be using a single phone number 0300 0135 000. The only website the service will ask you to visit is https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk.
Contact tracers will never:
Ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to us (for example, those starting 09 or 087)
Ask you to make any form of payment
Ask for any details about your bank account
Ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts
Ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone
Ask you to purchase a product
Ask you to download any software to your device or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet
Ask you to access any website that does not belong to the Government or NHS
North Yorkshire Community Messaging (NYCM) is managed by North Yorkshire Police. The official website is www.nycm.co.uk which will allow you to sign into your account to change your delivery method preference or locations of interest. It also contains a FAQs section, which may assist with any queries you have.
Cases
THERE has been one further confirmed case of coronavirus in the City of York Council area.The latest figures from Public Health England (PHE) show that the further one case takes the total for the area up 451.
THERE have been no new coronavirus related deaths recorded in the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in the last 24 hours. The latest figures from NHS England show that the figure has remained the same as yesterday at 205
Over 450 opatients who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 have been safely discharged home by York Hospital.
THERE has been two more coronavirus related deaths recorded at hospitals within the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The latest figures from NHS England show that the two further deaths takes the total within the trust to 203. No deaths were recorded within the Trust over the previous three days.
THERE have been no new coronavirus-related deaths reported at either York Hospital or Scarborough Hospital for the second day running. NHS England said today that the total number of patients with Covid-19 who had died at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust remained at 201.
. In total, 137 people have now been registered as dying with coronavirus in the city during the pandemic. More than half, 73, died in hospital. Of the remaining deaths, 55 or 40 per cent died in care homes, eight in their own home and one in a hospice. THE rate at which people die from Covid-19 in York is continuing to fall, according to the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics.
Eighteen coronavirus patients were registered as dying in the week ending May 15, two less than in the previous week.Ten of the most recent deaths occurred died in care homes, the other eight in hospital
The total number of coronavirus cases in York remains at 447.
The Council has agreed to change the fees that they charge at the crematorium. A report says, “
“The current full charge for cremations with a service is £895 – this charge was the 2019/20 charge frozen for 2020/21.
The charge was in place up to the closure of the chapels to mourners.
A decision was approved on 17th April 2020 for the ‘no service, cremation only’ fee of £550 to be used for the funerals where services were to be conducted outside the Crematorium.
Given that the reopening of the chapels comes with stricter constraints around social distancing and with shorter services of 20 minutes rather than 25 minutes, it is proposed that a lower than full price fee is approved.
This recommended price is £720 which is halfway between the two existing charges and reflects that the running of the services require additional staff and cleaning resources than a no service or outside service funeral
Deaths
There have been no further deaths reported at local hospitals. The total death toll for York and Scarborough therefore remains at 196.
The Council are struggling to catch up wiht householdwaste, reccyling and green bin emptying in various aprts of the City. Thye workede on into teh eveing yesterday and promise to continue into Satuirday if necessasry. Their latest update says,
“Latest waste service update
Thursday 21 May
We were unable to collect household waste from Old Orchard, Cherry Tree Lane, and Holly Tree Lane in Haxby due to a vehicle breakdown
This household waste will be collected on Friday 22 May. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.
We were unable to collect recycling from a number of areas due to operational restrictions to do with Covid-19.
Strensall
New Earswick
Haxby
Wigginton
This recycling waste will be collected on Friday 22 May. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.
We were unable to collect garden waste from a number of areas due to the large amount to be collected and capacity issues.
Strensall
New Earswick
Haxby
Wigginton
This garden waste will be collected on Friday 22 May. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.
We were able to return and collect missed waste from Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May”.
