Agenda item

Fiona Phillips, Assistant Director of Public Health, provided a presentation on the current Covid-19 situation in York.  She reported that the latest official validated rate of new covid cases per 100,000 people for the period from 17.9.21 to 23.9.21 in York was 226.5.  Cases had started to rise but this was happening nationally as well. Compared to regional and national rates, York’s local 60+ rate was lower and amounted to around 10% of the total cases. 

The NHS 111 service frequency had reduced as well, which was attributed to people becoming less sick when they contracted covid.  A similar picture was reported by the hospital, with 37 patients in general beds and another three in the intensive care unit.  Due to various mitigation measures the link between hospitalisation and deaths had been severely weakened.  Winter respiratory issues were happening earlier this year, which had caused our rates to be higher than those reported last year.

Fiona reported that the bulk of cases were amongst children, especially since they returned to school in September.  Cases had started to drop in this cohort at the end of last term and continued to fall over summer.  The rates had risen again before the current term started and had continued to increase.  The effect of the 18+ vaccination programme could be seen in the data, as eight weeks after the initial round of vaccines were administered rates had started to drop.

Given that footfall had fallen across all sites, only the sites at York St John University, University of York and Foxwood Community Centre would remain.  Tests kits could now be picked up from pharmacies and test sites or can be delivered to the home.  Fiona reported that the outreach team had delivered over 11,000 tests and handed out over 13,000 at the test sites.

Sharon Stoltz, Director of Public Health for the City of York, informed the Board that the majority of household cases were triggered by school aged children.  There was a risk that infection could be passed on to family members who were, or worked with, the clinically vulnerable.  She was continually working with local schools to achieve a balance between proportionate measures to allow children to attend school while also mitigating the risk of transmission.

Sian Balsom, Manager of Healthwatch York, raised a concern around parents being fined for not having their children in school even if there was a possibility of them being exposed to the virus. Sharon wanted to make the distinction between a parent keeping their child off school out of fear that was not borne out by the evidence base and a parent with genuine concerns about infection control.  The Corporate Director of People and the Director of Public Health had not received local reports of any cases where a fine had been imposed. Schools continue to work closely with children services and public health continued to deal with complex cases appropriately.

James Farrar asked for clarity of communication around the correct procedure for a primary school aged child when an older child in the same family was self-isolating.  Confusion had arisen from the change in guidance for school aged children.

Action: Sharon Stoltz and Amanda Hatton agreed to pick this up with the Schools and Academies Board to ensure clarity of communication for parents.