MP calls for York to have mass testing - and return to Tier 1

York Outer Conservative MP Julian Sturdy says local businesses need to be able to trade as normally as possible before Christmas 'unless we want to wake up to a New Year of shuttered high streets and steeply rising unemployment,' and he would be 'very disappointed and concerned' if it does not go straight back to Tier 1.

He said that with ongoing social distancing, tier 1 restrictions were basically as far as many enterprises could afford to go if they were to remain viable.

He pressed the Health Secretary in the Commons yesterday to confirm York’s allocation of new rapid turnaround coronavirus tests, 'to help the city manage the issues created by having to protect a large student population alongside permanent residents.'

But his comments came as the city's director of public health, Sharon Stoltz, was confirmed to The Press that York would not - as yet - be joining more than 60 other local authorities in taking up a Government offer of mass testing.

• Earlier this week city and business leaders said mass testing was the number one priority to accelerate York's recovery from Covid-19.

Mr Sturdy asked the Health Secretary: “Given the unique challenges of infection control in university cities…..will the wider roll-out of mass testing be available across university cities like York, for the whole population?”

In response, Matt Hancock confirmed that the lateral flow tests are available to directors of public health cross the whole country ,and urged York’s authorities to get in touch to arrange this.

On leaving the House of Commons, Mr Sturdy said: “Today’s positive news on vaccine progress and allocating rapid tests nationwide provides some much-needed hope as we continue through the November lockdown.

"Given the Health Secretary’s answer, I immediately contacted York’s director of public health to ask if City of York Council are taking steps to introduce this new quick testing locally, how they see this fitting with the anti-virus effort in York, and what communication they have had with the Department of Health on this. Rapid, on-the-ground testing of this kind is essential for our community to head back towards normality."

At Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Mr Sturdy asked: “The government’s new support measures for businesses provide a genuine lifeline, however support to stay closed is not the long-term answer, and many will only remain viable if they can be open be as normal for the pre-Christmas season. So can I ask what the Minister is doing to urgently lobby government and the Prime Minister on the necessity of keeping businesses, and getting them reopened from the 2nd of December, including hospitality, which is so important to a city like York”.

Minister Nadhim Zahawi responded: “I absolutely agree with him, it [financial support to stay closed] is not the long-term answer, and I fully appreciate that retailers across England will be desperate to reopen in time for the important Christmas trading. The regulations, as the Prime Minister said, will expire on the 2nd of December, and we will return to the local restrictions thereafter, the tiered system, and of course Ministers and officials are regularly engaging across government, including my colleagues in BEIS [Department for Business] to ensure the sector can reopen safely on the 2nd of December.”

Mr Sturdy said he was reassured by the clarity of the Minister on exiting national lockdown back to the tiered system based on local risk from 2nd December, 'but I will be very disappointed and concerned if York does not come straight out into tier 1 (medium alert) next month, and will take action accordingly.

" York residents have made sacrifices to drive our local coronavirus cases down lower than they were at the time we were put into tier 2 (high alert) pre-new lockdown, and the government have to give local people hope that their self-denial will be rewarded.

"Residents can be reassured that I will continue to lobby hard to ensure the government delivers for York on both the public health and economic aspects of this emergency.”