As Covid-19 rates fall in York - city chiefs say 'thank you'

Since the seven day rate of cases per 100,000 of population in York peaked at 309.6 on October 20, the rate has recently fallen to 176.6.

The rate in York is currently below the national and regional averages and is among the lowest in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.

The percentage of people who test positive after taking a community based test in York has fallen to 10.2 per cent, after a peak of 18 per cent.

Councillor Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, welcomed the falling rates but warned against complacency.

He said: “This has been a challenging and uncertain period for everyone.

“One thing we can guarantee is that the people of this city will look after each other and we should be incredibly proud of that community spirit.

“Whilst it has been encouraging to see numbers falling in recent weeks, we cannot afford to be complacent as we have seen cases rise in other parts of the region and country.”

Council leaders are asking everyone to continue to think ‘Hands. Face. Space’ and to self-isolate if they have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace to continue to reduce the number of cases.

Sharon Stoltz, the city's director for public health, said: “Recent weeks have seen a fall in the number of cases thanks to the efforts of people in the city.

“Washing our hands, wearing a face covering in busy public spaces and keeping a 2m distance from those you don’t live with remain as important as ever.

“As is self-isolating when you have symptoms or are told to by Test and Trace.

“These methods remain our best way of stopping the spread and keeping the people we love safe.”

In recent weeks the council has launched its local contact tracing programme to reach those the national system has been unable to locate.

In the past two weeks, the council has reached more than 80 per cent of contacts passed to them by the national test and trace service.