A SENIOR York doctor is reminding residents that just because ‘hands, face and space’ are no longer legally required, it doesn’t mean such measures are no longer needed.

Dr Daniel Kimberling, medical director of Nimbuscare and GP Partner at Haxby Group, urged everyone to use common sense and remain cautious when mixing with others.

Writing a weekly column in The Press, he said: “Our choices now, though not a legal obligation, remain an opportunity for us to demonstrate our continued commitment to shield those who, though safer because of advancing science, continue to feel more at risk.

“They, and we, must get back to living a fulfilled life and we can only do that together.”

He said people should think of those who, at the start of the pandemic and before vaccines, antiviral and other treatments, found themselves ‘shielded.’

He said: "Just because we don’t have to do something legally – such as hands, face & space – it doesn’t mean to say that we shouldn’t."

He also said good infection control measures were ‘here to stay’ and were still in place in healthcare settings.

“Within our GP Practices and across Nimbuscare’s services, we are still asking people to wear face coverings, adhere to social distancing where possible and use the handwashing facilities,” he said.

“Healthcare workers are still doing twice weekly lateral flow tests too.”

His comments came as it emerged yesterday that more than 150 patients with Covid are still being treated at York and Scarborough hospitals, despite patient numbers having fallen significantly nationwide and case numbers having fallen locally.

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said yesterday that it was currently treating 152 confirmed and suspected Covid-19 inpatients, with two of the patients currently in intensive care.

The number is up from 125 in mid-February and only just below the peak for the Omicron wave of more than 160.

The trust has now discharged a total of 3,773 Covid patients since the start of the pandemic two years ago.

Dr Kimberling said in his column that York’s mass vaccination centre at Askham Bar had now given 532,000 jabs, including more than 150 vulnerable children and staff would soon start to deliver vaccinations to other 5-11 year-olds.

He said Nimbuscare had been working really hard with partners in the city on a recovery plan, and had been focusing on supporting people in the lead up to their elective procedures.

“This is all about ‘preparing well’” he said. “We want people to be as healthy as possible when the time comes for them to go into hospital and we’ll be supporting people throughout this journey.

“We know that people waiting for elective care want to feel adequately informed and supported during this time and may contact their GP team for an update.”