Agenda item

Fiona Phillips provided a presentation summarising data from York through the pandemic period since late February 2020. In that time there had been 59,026 positive cases of Covid in York, which equated to a lower rate per 100,000 of population than the regional and English averages. There had been almost 80,000 positive tests in the population, mostly through Pillar 2 testing (lateral flow and PCR tests), with over 70,000 testing appointments attended across seven CYC-run testing sites to February 2022. Although cases remained high, York was moving out of the outbreak response phase.

Fiona noted that the Delta and Omicron BA.1 variants accounted for 40% and 48% respectively of all cases in York across the pandemic, with most current cases involving the Omicron BA.2 variant. Peaks in hospital bed occupancy had occurred in January 2021 and March 2022, although in the present peak the figures for Intensive Treatment Unit bed occupancy were very low. To date 469 York residents had died from Covid, with peaks occurring in May 2020 and January 2021; the success of the vaccination programme had ensured that there was no corresponding peak in deaths during the current phase. The vaccination programme was ongoing, with over 85% of the 16+ population having received both doses of the vaccine to date and work being done to target low-uptake wards. The contact tracing service had now concluded, with over 80% of referrals actioned being successful.

Fiona also noted that over 3,000 Test and Trace Support Payments, over 800 Hospitality and Leisure Grants, and over 5,200 Additional Restrictions grants had been paid by the Council over the course of the pandemic and highlighted the scale of the effort made across the city over the period.

The Chair expressed the Board’s thanks for the efforts of public health teams, volunteers, NHS and primary care staff, the community and voluntary sector, and businesses in pulling together across the pandemic.

Alison Semmence echoed the Chair’s comments, highlighting the work of the Public Health team and asked about the drop-off in uptake of the booster vaccination. Fiona noted that this was partly due to timing, with high rates of Covid delaying when people could have their booster, but messaging was still needed to emphasise the importance of vaccination, which was the reason why people with Covid were not becoming more unwell.

Siân Balsom also echoed the Chair’s comments and enquired about the messages Public Health wanted emphasised going forwards in weathering the Omicron BA.2 strain. Fiona confirmed that a focus on vaccination was a key element; many would be nervous about the next phase so it was important to help give people confidence that monitoring of the disease would continue and that local measures could be introduced if needed.

Jamaila Hussain asked whether there would be any further guidance around testing for both internal and external care providers. Fiona noted that this was expected to be published on 1 April, addressing the next phase including testing in high-risk settings.

The Board noted the update.