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Coronavirus: Scarborough and Selby marked 'areas of concern'

BBC ScarboroughBBC
The borough covers the popular holiday destinations Scarborough, Whitby and Filey

Scarborough and Selby in North Yorkshire have been named as "areas of concern" by Public Health England, due to a rise in coronavirus cases.

The coastal towns of Whitby and Filey, as well as Scarborough town centre are included, as are Tadcaster, Eggborough and the villages around Selby.

Scarborough Council leader Steve Siddons said people had to be vigilant to avoid tighter restrictions.

"It's with us and it's going to be with us for a long time to come," he said.

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"Unless we continue to be really vigilant, we will end up with the kind of lockdowns we see in other parts of the country."

Social distancing sign in Scarborough
In the past week, Scarborough has recorded 34 cases per 100,000 people

The latest figures from Public Health England show there have been 49 cases per 100,000 people in the week of 8 to 14 September. The average for England was 16 cases per 100,000.

In the Scarborough Borough Council area, that number was 34 cases per 100,000 people.

In response to the announcement, chair of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (NYLRF) Richard Flinton said: "We are asking people to be extra vigilant, to wear your facemask outdoors as well as indoors, to make sure you wash your hands and sanitise, and to make sure that you keep to your 2m.

"If you can't do that it's 1m with a face mask."

"Please keep to those rules. We ask schools and businesses to keep to those rules too. Together we can act now and save lives."

Susan Hopkins, from Public Health England, said infections in Scarborough and Selby will now be monitored constantly.

Selby Town Council leader Steve Shaw-Wright added: "I think there was a feeling that it was almost over, because... very speedily people were allowed to do more and more and more, and I think people decided it was over."

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What is an area of concern?

Marking a place as an area of concern means an increased monitoring of cases and potentially taking extra steps if infection rates do not fall.

An area of concern is the first level of intervention in a three-step process, according to the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (NYLRF).

It means government agencies are working more closely with NYLRF and communities to try to prevent, contain and reduce the spread of the virus.

This is different to what are known as areas of intervention, or areas of enhanced support.

An area of concern does not face additional lockdown requirements, like pub curfews, so long as people act to contain and reduce the spread of the virus.

This means people living in Scarborough and Selby are being asked to:

  • Continue to wash their hands.
  • Maintain social distancing and avoid large crowds.
  • Wear a mask or face covering when possible.
  • Observe the "rule of six".
  • Only request a test if they have symptoms, unless directed to do so.
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