This is my latest roundup of local news and Coronavirus updates for Hunslet and Riverside residents. There are several links to more detailed information from the Government, the Council and others within the post. In this update you will find:
[1] Covid-19 Cases and Mortality and Infection Rates
[2] Leeds Covid-19 Restrictions FAQ Version Two
[3] Covid-19 Travel Corridor Update
[4] Covid-19 Sectoral Guidance
[5] Covid-19 App Help
[6] Covid-19 Self-Isolation Advice
[7] A61 Lane Closure For 9 Weeks
[8] Leeds City Council Youth Service October Programme
[9] Community Notice Boards
[10] Planned Inner Ring Road Closure
[11] Council Leisure Centres
[12] Remembrance Sunday and Other Events
[13] Black History Month
[14] Light Night Display
[15] Meetings and Visits
[16] Latest Councillor Newsletter
[17] Upcoming Community Events and Meetings
Previous updates can be found here: Local News Summary. Thank you for reading in advance. Just to mention this website is not paid for by the Council, and costs time and money to run. Please consider making a donation now and support me to keep it delivering your local news.
[1] Covid-19 Cases and Mortality and Infection Rates: In Leeds, as of 17:00 on 1/10/20, the total lab confirmed Covid-19 cases stood at 7,990- 205 of these were new cases. Of the 674 Covid-19 related deaths registered so far:
658 (98%) were Leeds residents
369 (54.75%) were in hospitals
268 (39.76%) were in care homes
13 (1.93%) in a hospice
24 (3.56%) in their own home.
The latest figures for Leeds 7 day Covid-19 infection rate is now 216.3 per 100,000, a substantial increase on the rate we reported as at Friday of 134.8. There is an upward trend in all the big cities and across Yorkshire and West Yorkshire with a reported rate of 102.7 per 100,000. The Leeds 7 day positivity rate is now 14.2% which is also a significant increase. Our testing rate is 217.5 per 100,000.
Latest position, as of 5/10/20:
There is widespread community transmission across the city, with the majority of wards having a rate over 100 per 100,000.
The highest rate of growth is the wards with more students/young adults. The infection rate is highest amongst 16 – 29 year olds, at over 500 per 100,000.
Two care homes with cases, all support in place
Lots of cases in education settings, with incident management meetings planned for those settings with higher numbers of cases. One outbreak at an independent educational performing arts college in LS25, with all the right actions taken and which is now closed, and is being supported to re-open safely at the right time.
Significant engagement continues across 11 workplaces reporting single and double cases across a range of services including, hairdressers, restaurants, bars and gyms. Two licensed premises with multiple cases are being supported in LS6
It is too early to know what our infection rates will mean for Leeds this week in terms of Leeds retaining the same level of government restrictions or adding new additional restrictions, because this will also partly depend on whether the new national tiered framework (which has been reported in the media) is introduced this week or not.
[2] Leeds Covid-19 Restrictions FAQ Version Two: You can read the latest answers to your questions here.
[3] Covid-19 Travel Corridor Update: Turkey, Poland, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba have been removed from the travel corridor exempt list -people arriving in England from these destinations from 4am Saturday 3 October 2020 will need to self-isolate for 2 weeks.
[4] Covid-19 Sectoral Guidance: The following guidance documents have been updated:
Working Safely (For Heritage Locations, Hotels/Guest Accommodation, Performing Arts and the Visitor Economy)
Reporting Outbreaks (For Organisations)
[5] Covid-19 App Help: FAQs on the Covid-19 App- who should use it, how to use it, and what it does.
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[6] Covid-19 Self-Isolation Advice: This blog post from PHE explains what self-isolating is, when it is needed, what support is available for people self-isolating, and why self-isolating is so important to protect your friends, family and loved ones.
[7] A61 Lane Closure For 9 Weeks: You can read more about about the lane closures here.
[8] Leeds City Council Youth Service October Programme: Find out where the youth service will be working this month.
[9] Community Notice Boards: These 14 notice boards are free to use. If you have a community event or project you want to promote, let me know.
[10] Planned Inner Ring Road Closure: You can read more about the overnight closures here.
[11] Leisure Centres: 13 of the 17 leisure centres are now open and offering most of the usual services, as shown in the attached graphic. Online fitness on demand and livestreaming service continues and has been a major success. Compared to other local authorities and private providers, we have been able to reopen more sites than average, however the sector faces considerable challenge, and I recently signed a letter from the Core Cities to highlight the challenges the sector faces without further support.
[12] Remembrance Sunday and Other Events: We have been advised this week that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport have decided against providing specific guidance for Remembrance events and are directing local authorities to guidance for social distancing/ events relevant to their areas. The Lord Mayor’s office is reviewing options for the Remembrance event in Leeds City Centre; further details of which will be circulated in due course along with guidance about local events.
[13] Black History Month: October marks the start of Black History Month, a very important time of the year to recognise and celebrate the contributions of Black, Asian and ethnic minority people in Leeds. On Thursday night civic buildings were lit up to mark the start of Black History Month and Leeds Museums & Galleries will be sharing Black History Month content across their social media platforms and events across the city are listed on the Leeds Inspired website.
[14] Light Night Display: The Council is pleased to announce a special Light Night display is planned for 22-24 October to give the city a ‘ray of hope’ in these difficult times. Artist Seb Lee has designed a spectacular interactive laser display that will be cast from the rooftops of seven Leeds buildings and will be visible for miles around, allowing people to enjoy the display safely from their homes, or via a live online video stream.
[15] Meetings and Visits: As part of my many different roles I attend meetings with:
This is on top of my doing casework for residents via email, telephone and social media.
[16] Latest Councillor Newsletter: Here is a digital copy of our latest newsletter.
[17] Upcoming Community Events and Meetings:
6/10/20: Beeston Hill Residents Meeting (Zoom)
7/20/20: Hunslet Tenants and Residents Association (Zoom)
9/10/20: Ask Your Councillor (Live Stream - Past event can be re-watched here)
20/10/20: Hunslet Moor Residents Meeting (Zoom)
If you have a community event you'd like me to share, please let me know. The events must be non-party political and for the whole community. I'll also offer to host the Facebook event page if your group does not have its own Facebook Page etc. to do so. Thank you for reading in this weekly update. This website is not paid for by the Council, and costs time and money to run. Please support it by make a donation now.