Should Different Parts of North Yorkshire be in Different COVID Tiers?

Wednesday, 2 December 2020 19:57

Filey MP Kevin Hollinrake is pushing for just that.

The Government have said they will be reviewing the COVID Tier status of all parts of England every two weeks, the first review is due on December 16th.

But when they do that should they continue to assess the existing geographical areas or should more localised data be used?

In North Yorkshire the seven day infection rates have seen massive variations. On November 11th when the English average was 270 cases for every 10,000 people the Scarborough Borough had infection rates of 577 while neighbouring Ryedale was just 213.

Despite the differences in the rates between districts, when lockdown ended the entire county was put in the same tier, namely Tier 2.

Now there are calls for the Government to look at deciding tiers on more localised levels, possibly using district rather than county data.

Filey MP Kevin Hollinrake, whose constituency also takes in Ryedale and Thirsk, put the question to the Health Secretary in the House of Commons on Wednesday

In North Yorkshire the difference in infection rates between the districts has narrowed significantly over the last couple of weeks. The latest charts show the Scarborough Borough now broadly in line with the rest of the county and the seven day infection rate is now higher in Selby than it is in Scarborough.

North Yorkshire COVID Numbers December 2nd

North Yorkshire Infection Rates December 2nd

North Yorkshire's Director of Public Health, Dr Lincoln Sergeant, says the narrowing of the gap between the districts means the question about whether or not to make changes at a county or district level might not be much of an issue.

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