'Sticking to the rules' is the best way to keep Scarborough's coronavirus cases down
That's the message from North Yorkshire's Director of Public Health, Dr Lincoln Sargeant
Last updated 14th Nov 2020
Public health bosses in North Yorkshire say 'sticking to the rules' is the best way to keep coronavirus cases in Scarborough down.
It comes as the borough records the 11th highest seven day infection rate in all of England, at 561 cases per 100,000 people.
That's around double the average figure for England.
North Yorkshire's Director of Public Health, Dr Lincoln Sargeant, has urged people to keep to the basic rules of social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing a face covering, saying these are the best ways to reduce virus rates.
He also urged anyone who does test positive for Covid-19 to self-isolate.
Dr Lincoln Sargeant said:
"What we're seeing in Scarborough is typical of how pandemics behave, cases double over a period of time. When they're doubling at low rates people don't take notice, but when suddenly people begin to see the effects, that's when people take note.
"When people finally take it seriously, it appears to be getting catastrophically worse, and at that time people are saying let's take action, let's do something, but it then takes time for the measures to take their full effect.
"It is more likely that those cases associated with schools, with care homes, with pubs, with hotels, are imported from the community. They reflect people being infected through household contacts and social contacts.
"What we can do working with high risk settings is only part of the picture. Much of the dynamic of the pandemic is happening in households through household contacts and social contacts."