Coronavirus message from Chief Executive of North Yorkshire County Council

The Chief Executive of North Yorkshire County Council has given an update this morning on the coronavirus situation in the area.

Richard Flinton said:

"Today, I am sorry to say that, despite the terrific efforts of many of you, in North Yorkshire we are now in a more serious position than last week. Infections of Covid-19 continue to rise across the county – as they do in many areas – and specifically in the north of England. We are, by no means, in the perilous position of some of our close neighbours, but, unfortunately, without an urgent, sustained and collective effort from everyone – we are heading that way.

The England 7-day average rate of infection per 100,000 people is 93.2. North Yorkshire’s is now 91.1. However, in areas such as Craven and particularly around the Skipton and south Craven border, the situation is above that at 136.5.

We suspect that the continued and worrying rise in cases in this area will result in the district going onto the Government’s watch list as an area of concern. Scarborough and Selby, which were the first parts of the county to go onto the watch list, are no longer seeing the highest level of spread. It is reasonable to assume that this is due to effective support and interventions by our public health team and wider local resilience forum partners, as well as a really positive and sustained response from residents and businesses there. I thank you for doing the right thing for your friends, family, neighbours and businesses and urge you to keep up that good work. To everyone right across North Yorkshire, I am asking you to redouble your effort. The next few days will be critical; we stand at a tipping point and only by playing our part as individuals in a concerted effort will we be able to step back from this precipice.

Across the county, our public health colleagues are dealing with 125 outbreaks and incidents across a whole range of settings. Where they fall within settings we have direct access to, the outbreak management plans are working very effectively in containing the virus. These include schools, care homes and workplaces. Where containment is far more complex, unfortunately, is also where the most frequent spread is taking place. This is within households and social interactions. We are also seeing infection carried into the county from surrounding areas where the rates are higher.

Please stay alert to the risks at all times. You may suffer only mild symptoms, but you may unknowingly give it to someone who is much more at risk from the more serious side-effects of Covid. They may become extremely poorly and, in some cases, they may die. Indeed, I am sorry to say that our NHS colleagues are now reporting increasing numbers of Covid patients in intensive care units in hospitals serving North Yorkshire and a number of those people have sadly died.

Please – let us not lose any more of our loved ones; let’s take this urgent call to action together and take the steps we know work. Wash hands, cover face, leave space.

I should touch on the steep rise in cases reported this week. You may have heard about the national issue involving thousands of positive test results being unreported due to a technical glitch. This national error has affected figures here, too, but more importantly it has meant that many people who may have been close contacts of those who tested positive were not contacted by the NHS Test and Trace team. For those of you who were not aware of this, there is a government statement here which explains the glitch https://www.gov.uk/government/news/phe-statement-on-delayed-reporting-of-covid-19-cases

Understandably, many people have been keen to keep track of positive tests in their communities and we have responded to that need for information by publishing daily statistics on a ‘heat map’ on our social media platforms and by setting up this web page. If you would like to understand the position near you, please take a look https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/coronavirus-data

North Yorkshire is a place of resilience and kindness and I know we can get through this together. Just this week we heard how small grants from our Stronger Communities team have been making a big difference to people struggling with communicating because they were visually impaired or deaf. This is an uplifting story of positivity, which I hope you will enjoy. https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/news/article/technology-and-special-masks-making-covid-easier-visually-hearing-impaired

Finally, I will leave you with the words of our Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, from a press conference today and please stay safe.

“As the infection rate rises, the chances of being in contact with someone who is infected are greater and the risks higher. It is inevitable that as the infection rate rises we will see infections introduced into communities where there are more vulnerable people, like care homes. We will begin to see more hospitalisation of people with Covid and we will begin to report deaths. York hospital has had its first Covid death for many weeks.

“We must not fall into complacency. We need to contain the infection, otherwise this will translate into more severe illness and death and we will begin to see the same patterns we saw in April.

“So we must carry on with those hands, face, space measures - keeping a two-metre distance when we can, washing our hands, wearing a facemask, even outside when we are in crowded areas. When people are being tested, it is also vitally important that they self-isolate and that they cooperate with the test and trace programme over their contacts.

“This is how we will break the chain of transmission, by playing our part, by making sure that we don’t become a player in causing the spread.”