Covid-19 testing extended at Acorn Rugby Club

With infection rates remaining at a high level in the west of the city, City of York Council has announced that the symptom-free Covid-19 testing that has been available at Acorn Rugby Club on Thanet Road for the past week is to be extended.

So far around 1,000 tests have been carried out and to offer more people the chance to get tested, the site will be open on Thursday 14 January and then from Saturday 16 January and Wednesday 20 January inclusive with the same opening times as before (9am-3pm).

It is not a ‘drive-through’ site, so you can attend on foot. Testing can be undertaken on anyone aged 5 and over.

1 in 3 cases of Covid-19 have no symptoms and people can spread the virus without knowing it to those who may have a more serious illness as a result of catching it. Finding these symptom-free cases will help to reduce rates in the coming weeks.

You can book a test by visiting www.nhs.uk/Coronavirus or calling 119 and selecting the option that you were asked to attend by your local council.

On the website you may find that Acorn Rugby Club doesn’t appear as a testing site to choose. This happens most afternoons. If Acorn doesn’t appear on the list, please try again after 6.30pm when the testing slots for Acorn are usually released for the following day.

Thanks for your support.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe residents invited to get a Covid test

In recent days there has been a spike in the number of Coronavirus cases in the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, and particularly in the Woodthorpe and Acomb Park area. In response, City of York Council is offering residents the chance to get a symptom-free test.

1 in 3 cases of Coronavirus have no symptoms but for some catching Coronavirus can have serious consequences. To help stop the spread, residents in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward are invited to get a test. A testing site has been set up at York Acorn Rugby Club, Thanet Road, YO24 2NW. This site will be open from Wednesday 6th to Wednesday 13th January inclusive, between 9am and 3pm.

How it works

Book to have a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.  Please note that the Department for Health & Social Care will release booking slots later today (5th) for the morning of Wednesday 6th January, and will release afternoon slots on the morning of the 6th.

On this website select that you do not have symptoms of Coronavirus, but in the relevant section choose the option ‘my local council or health protection team has asked me to get a test even though I don’t have symptoms’.  Then select the site at York Acorn Rugby Club.  Testing can be undertaken on anyone aged 5 and over. It is not recommended that you are tested if you have tested positive in the previous 90 days. Ring 119 if you are not able to book online.

If you have symptoms of Coronavirus please do not attend this site, instead book a test through www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119 and select the Poppleton Bar site or a home testing kit.

Getting your results

You should get your results within 24-48 hours of your test.

If you receive a negative test result you can continue as you were.

Remember:

  • a negative test result provides information about the level of the virus at one point in time
  • it’s possible to become infected in the hours or days after taking a rapid test – so you must continue to follow government guidance on social distancing, good hand hygiene, and practice ‘Hands, Face, Space’
  • this type of testing will only be effective if people continue to follow the guidance

Positive test results

If you receive a positive test result you must self-isolate for 10 days.

Covid-19 rates continue to rise

The data for the seven days ending on 28th December show Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise, with Woodthorpe & Acomb Park having a rolling rate of 845.6 cases per 100,000 population, the highest in York.

These figures pre-date York being moved from Tier 2 into Tier 3 – it is to be hoped that the tighter restrictions will help to bring the case rate down.

The Government’s interactive Covid map is available HERE

It will of course continue to be vital that residents continue to follow the Hands / Face / Space mantra, and adhere to the Tier 3 restrictions summarised on the posters below.

Tougher restrictions to apply in York from Saturday 17 October

The Government has announced that York will be subject to additional restrictions, following a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.

From 00:01hrs on Saturday 17 October, York will be been placed at the high level (tier 2) of the Government’s new three-tier restriction system.

The new restrictions for tier 2 mean:

  • You must not meet socially with friends and family indoors in any setting unless you live with them or have formed a support bubble with them. This includes private homes, and any other indoor venues such as pubs and restaurants.
  • You may continue to see friends and family you do not live with outside, including in a garden or other outdoor space. When you do so you must not meet in a group of more than 6.
  • Visiting indoor hospitality/leisure/retail settings is restricted to one household i.e. two households must not meet in these settings (unless those two households are in a support bubble).
  • People are advised only to visit care homes in exceptional circumstances (further work will be undertaken locally to agree what this means).
  • People should only travel for essential reasons.
  • You can still go on holiday outside of your area, but you should only do this with people you live with, or have formed a support bubble with (dependent on any local restrictions in the area you are visiting).
  • People can play a team sport only where this is formally organised by a sports club or similar organisation, and sports-governing body guidance has been issued.
  • People should not attend amateur or professional sporting events as a spectators.
  • Wedding receptions and celebrations can continue for up to 15 people in the form of a sit-down meal and in a Covid-secure setting, not in a private dwelling.
  • Up to 30 people can attend a funeral (York capacity remains at 18), and 15 for a wake in a Covid-secure setting, not in a private dwelling.

What is a ‘support bubble’ and a ‘childcare bubble’?

A ‘support bubble’ can be established between a household with only one adult in the home, and one other household of any size. Find out more at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-support-bubble-with-another-household

Informal childcare can be provided via ‘childcare bubbles’. A childcare bubble is where someone in one household provides informal (unpaid and unregistered) childcare to a child aged 13 or under in another household. For any given childcare bubble, this must always be between the same 2 households. Friends or family who do not live with you and are not part of a support or childcare bubble must not visit your home to help with childcare. Childcare bubbles are to be used to provide childcare only, and not for the purposes of different households mixing where they are otherwise not allowed to do so. Find out more at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-level-high#childcare

To learn more about the new measures and what support is available locally, please visit www.york.gov.uk/Coronavirus. The council will also be holding a special Facebook Live ‘Ask the Leaders’ Q&A session at www.facebook.com/CityofYork on Friday 16 October, further details to follow.

Event to get views from blue badge holders

City of York Council would like to hear from any blue badge holders and less mobile people who have been affected by the increased pedestrianisation in York city centre.

Join the online workshop on Wednesday 23 September 2-4pm to explore:

– the challenges (what works / doesn’t work)

– understand the range of people’s needs

– ideas for improvements around accessibility and footstreets

Sign up at https://footstreetsworkshop.eventbrite.co.uk

If you are unable to join the workshop then you can complete an online survey at www.york.gov.uk/OBCAccess by 28 September or you can find a paper survey in the September edition of the council’s ‘Our City’ publication.

Former Park & Ride site set for Flu vaccination role

Signs have been erected at the former Askham Bar Park & Ride site announcing that it will close on 24 September and will then be used by the NHS as a ‘mass flu vaccination site.’

Coming soon to Askham Bar

Cllr Stephen Fenton noticed on 17 September that signs had gone up and that the car park had benefited from a deep clean. A worker on site said that he had spent four days doing a thorough litter pick and cutting back vegetation which had taken over many of the parking bays.

Deep cleaned car park

Stephen has asked for clarification on how the site will operate, as it currently serves as a cut-through for residents going to and from the Tesco store.

It is understood that the site is being mobilised to create additional vaccination capacity on the back of the announcement that, in addition to the normal flu vaccination programme, 50 to 64-year-olds who do not have a health condition putting them at risk of the flu will also be eligible for a free flu vaccine. 

Since its transformation from a Park & Ride site into a £4 per day City of York Council Pay & Display car park, the site has been very little used. It was often strewn with litter, which volunteers tried to keep on top of, and was the venue for some late evening ‘boy racer’ meet-ups.

In the draft Local Plan the site is earmarked for housing.

No date set for Dringhouses library re-opening

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 23 June, York Explore have announced their plans for re-opening York’s libraries. Smaller libraries, including Dringhouses, will remain closed during this first stage of re-opening.

Dringhouses library will remain closed for the time being

From Monday 6 July the following libraries will be open for pre-booked appointments only:

– Central library

– Acomb

– Clifton

– Tang Hall

– Mobile library

At these libraries you will be able to collect and return books and use the public computers and printers.

The new reading café in Hungate will open for the first time on 7 July. The cafes at Rowntree Park and Homestead Park open on 6 July . All will be serving drinks and snacks to take away and enjoy outside.

Opening hours at libraries will be 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday.

More information can be found at the Explore website HERE

Dates set for tip to re-open and green waste collections

City of York Council has announced that Household Waste Recycling Centres will re-open on Monday 11 May (with a booking system in operation) and garden waste collections will get underway from Monday 18 May.

In a statement issued on Tuesday 5 May, Cllr Paula Widdowson outlined the plans:

“Today we have agreed changes which mean:

– Household Waste and Recycling Centres will reopen from 11 May by appointment only to residents and commercial waste customers for essential use.
– Bulky waste collections will restart on 11 May
– Garden waste collections will start on 18 May.

“The decision we took back in April wasn’t one we took lightly, however it was crucial we were able to keep residents and staff safe. I would like to thank residents for their understanding and also our incredible staff who have continued to collect household waste and recycling in these challenging times.

“The wellbeing of residents and our staff has been our number one priority and following resident feedback, we explored options to restart all waste collection services, including garden waste collections. In addition, these services can now be opened safely as staff absences have stabilised and we have developed new ways of working.

“Following my letter to the Secretary of State seeking further support and guidance to resume our services as soon as possible, the government released updated guidance today. The guidance advises that journeys to tips must only be undertaken if your waste or recycling cannot be stored at home safely or disposed of safely by other means.

“The household waste and recycling centres will also have social distancing measures in place in addition to our booking system. We will announce further details of the changes, including the booking system tomorrow (Wednesday 6 May).”

Nominating someone to collect your state pension

Many elderly people are self-isolating at the moment and can’t get to the Post Office to collect their state pension.

If you are in this position and need to access your pension payments, you can nominate someone you trust to become a ‘Permanent Agent’ on your account. This person will be given their own card and PIN to collect cash on your behalf.

To nominate a Permanent Agent, you will need to complete the ‘Permanent Agent access form’ (P6163), which is available from most Post Office branches. You can ask someone to pick up a form for you and hand it in at the Post Office on your behalf as long as the form is complete and has been signed by yourself.

Further information is available on the Post Office website at https://www.postoffice.co.uk/post-office-card-account