Harrogate pupils urged to wear face masks amid Covid surge
- Published
Harrogate now has the 11th highest infection rate in England
Schools in Harrogate are being urged to reintroduce face masks after a jump in Covid cases linked to young people.
The rate per 100,000 people has hit 773.1 cases in the week to 15 October, North Yorkshire County Council said.
Health bosses said it was the highest rate in Yorkshire and the 11th highest in England, with cases rising most sharply among five to 19-year-olds.
The authority said it had asked for some out-of-school activities to be postponed until infection rates eased.
Public health officials called an urgent press briefing on Tuesday and revealed every head teacher in Harrogate had been contacted with the offer of extra support and advice.
Amanda Newbold, assistant director of education and skills at North Yorkshire County Council, said: "We are working to minimise the disruption to education by recommending that face coverings are worn in certain settings and on school transport.
"We have asked schools to consider the risk of mixing and for some out-of-school activities to be postponed until case rates are reduced.
"We would also ask that everybody at schools continue to conduct twice-weekly lateral flow testing and report their results."
'Highest rate'
Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, also advised everyone to take daily lateral flow tests before attending events or visiting family and friends.
"The rate in Harrogate is higher than any of us would like it to be," she said.
"It is the highest rate in Yorkshire now and one of the highest in England and the majority of new cases are in the younger age population, particularly of school-aged children and so we are working really hard with education colleagues to deal with the impact of this in education settings."
A total of 45 schools, colleges and early years settings in the district are currently dealing with at least one confirmed Covid case.
Neil Renton, head teacher at Harrogate Grammar School, said extra measures including no mixing of students at break times and moving parents' evening online had been introduced.
"Young people have been really pleased to be back at school - it has been very positive," he said.
"However, we are seeing more cases at this point than we saw last year."
Despite the rise in cases, deaths and hospitalisations remain lower than previous waves with 15 Covid-positive patients at Harrogate District Hospital as of Monday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Patient numbers previously peaked at 67 in January.
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