The North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum met this morning to brief the media (21 December 2020)
Main Points
- England average is 282 infections per 100,000 (from 202 at the last report)
- Harrogate is 86.4 infections per 100,000 (from 81.5 at the last report)
- North Yorkshire Police said they had given out a number of penalties for tier 3 visitors to tier 2 North Yorkshire
- Tier review is due on 30 December 2020
- Vaccine rollout continuing
- No confirmed cases of covid-19 variant in North Yorkshire
- Plenty of testing capacity (PCR)
- Staggered return of schools
- Non-mandatory lateral flow testing to be rolled out within schools
- The sentiment of the group was to not become complacent and to follow the rules
Police
Number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) handed out over the weekend, especially to tier 3 visitors to tier 2, York.
- Re-affirmed that the policing is by consent, and they need the support of the public
- 74 FPNs issued this weekend
- Of that 74 – 61 issued in York and 12 Scarborough
- In York 61 FPNs split as so – 55 to tier 3 visitors in breach of tier 3 regulations and 6 to local residents for tier 2 breaches
- In Scarborough 12 FPNs split – 11 to residents for tier 2 breaches and 1 tier 3 visitor in breach of their tier 3 restrictions.
- Only other one is Richmond – 1 FPN issued to a local resident in breach of tier 2 indoor gathering rule
- Continuing a strategy of engaging first, but some have refused to disperse when asked to
North Yorkshire Police has a low rate of infection and a low rate of self-isolation.
Infection Rates
7 day infection rate/ 100,000 (week to 21 December)
- England Average 282.2
- North Yorkshire 129.0
- Scarborough 253.2
- Craven 133.0
- Selby 141.2
- Harrogate 86.4
- Richmond 117.3
- Ryedale 79.5
- Hambleton 77.5
7 day infection rate/ 100,000 (week to 16 December)
- England Average 202.9
- North Yorkshire 101.3
- Scarborough 174.7
- Craven 110.3
- Selby 121.4
- Harrogate 81.5
- Richmond 85.6
- Ryedale 54
- Hambleton 49.1
Harrogate with a population of around 75,000 that means around 57 cases in period.
Carehomes
- 46 care homes with cases
- 30 care homes with 1 or more cases
PCR Testing
- Testing capability remains “good”
- Slight, but not dramatic, increase in testing.
- Harrogate test site is undertaking the most tests
- Scarborough has the highest utilisation (percentage of capacity)
Lateral Flow Testing
- Has previously been used in other areas for community hotspots, but tier 3
- There sas a recent announcement that LFT would be offered to some tier 2 areas. Not clear which yet.
- Roll out for care homes has begun – 2 x nominated visitors and professionals
- Expectation next round to include residents and staff
- LTF testing to be rolled out to secondary schools in the new year – not mandatory and creates a logistical challenge
Covid variant
- No confirmed cases in North Yorkshire
- A variant is not unexpected
- No reason to believe it is more serious
- The variant may be more transmissible
Hospitals
- Continue to see a plateauing of cases/
- Currently, 21 cases in ICU
- Trust have asked that ICU cases are not broken down by trust as they are slow it could identify an individual.
Hospital in-patients with Covid-19 (21 December 2020)
- All hospitals – 176 ( up 2)
- Harrogate – 14 (down 21)
- York – 46 (up 11)
- Scarborough 36 (down 2)
- South Tees 80 (no change)
- Darlington 36 (down 8)
- Airedale 37 (up 8)
Staff Absences
- Staff absences (sickness or self-isolating) – 244 (up 28)
Metrics for seriousness of cases
- Requiring hospitalization
- Length of stay
- Requiring intensive care
- Number of deaths
All metrics are lower in wave 2 than wave 1
Vaccine Program
- North Yorkshire has 6 sites where the vaccine is being given
- There will be 12 sites by 24 December
- Further sites to follow
- Currently, collating data to provide a weekly update of the numbers
- Vaccine needs to be used within 3.5 days of reaching a vaccine site
Education
A report for the attendance at schools was not given at this meeting.
- There will be a staggered return of secondary schools only.
- Students and exam year groups years 11 and 14, vulnerable children and children of critical workers will attend from week starting 4 January
- Face to face starting on the 11 January
- Exams scheduled for week starting 4 January will go ahead
- Webinair to take place on 4 January with schools
