A year on from the first Covid cases in Leeds
A year ago today the first 3 cases of coronavirus were reported in Leeds
Today marks a year since the first covid cases were detected in Leeds.
One person in Bradford had become infected whilst in Italy, whilst 2 people from Leeds caught the virus in Iran.
"We had so many changes to the rules and so many changes to the geography of those rules, it was hard for people to follow."
Reflecting on the past year, Tom Riordan, the chief executive of Leeds City Council said:
"Of course there are things we could have done better.
"I think the most challenging time was when we had so many changes to the rules and so many changes to the geography of those rules, it was hard for people to follow. That's one of the things that could've worked better."
James Lewis, the leader of the city council said:
"Where I'm sat at the moment I can walk into North Yorkshire, I can walk into the Wakefield council district, and at one point all 3 had different rules and regulations, I think there's lessons to be learnt going forward, about using local relationships but not relying on those detailed local rules."
As we look towards the roadmap out of lockdown, the rate in the area currently stands at 165 per 100 thousand people.
In the summer, when restrictions were lifted the rate in Leeds was 4 per 100 thousand.
Victoria Eaton, the director of public health at Leeds City Council said:
"There's still around 13 hundred new cases every week in Leeds.
"Despite all the optimism, we're still really conscious we are going into this with higher rates and with nearly all our cases being the new UK variant, which is more contagious."
Meanwhile, 202,000 people in Leeds have now had their first covid-19 vaccine.
The local NHS are now asking for anyone over 60 to book their vaccine, if they've not already had one.