OFFICIALS are urging care home residents and their visitors to remain vigilant about Covid-19, even as the vaccine roll-out continues in care facilities across North Yorkshire.

Currently, 79 of the 235 care settings in North Yorkshire have reported one or more Covid-19 cases among residents or staff and people are being urged to do all they can to help to stem this increase.

In particular care homes, residents and their visitors are being advised to “keep it local” when it comes to visits and outings during lockdown.

North Yorkshire County Council has written to providers, residents, and relatives this week urging continuing caution over the nature of visits and patience for the coming vaccination programme.

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire’s director of health and adult services, said: “These are really tough times and everyone in the care sector has shown tremendous resilience amidst the highs and lows that we have all felt.

"We thank them for their huge endeavours to keep people in their care as safe as possible.

“Though it’s hard with a new lockdown, the vaccines have arrived and in the coming weeks and months more and more people in our settings will have much greater protection against the virus.

“But for now, we have to assume that the new, more transmissible variant of Covid-19 is in our county so, although everybody is tired, we must redouble our efforts to stay safe and to protect our care home residents and staff.

"Above all we must all stay vigilant with facemasks, hand washing and social distancing.”

Despite the new national lockdown, the government has stated that visits by family and friends to care homes can still take place as long as arrangements such as substantial screens or visiting pods are in place or visits take place behind windows.

Close-contact indoor visits will not be allowed, and no visits can be permitted in the event of an outbreak.

Mr Webb said: “We continue to support and encourage regular, safe, planned visiting and trips out.

"But given we are all now expected to stay at home as much as possible and only travel locally when necessary, we urge that visits should take place from designated visitors within a reasonable radius, usually up to 20 miles in a rural area and up to ten miles in an urban area, and trips out for fresh air and exercise should be very local to the resident’s home.”

The County Council, in partnership with the Independent Care Group, is also calling on providers to come forward with any ideas they might have to support care settings and ease pressures on the system.

Mike Padgham, chair of the group said: “The latest figures show that Covid-19 hasn’t gone away, and, despite take up of the vaccine, we cannot become complacent and let our guard drop.

“We support North Yorkshire County Council in repeating the message that care providers and the community must keep up the pressure on Covid-19 – avoid social contact, use PPE, maintain good hygiene and observe social distancing.

“We haven’t got this virus beaten yet.

"It’s an aggressive and easily spread strain and we must fight with everything we have to keep our residents, our staff, and our communities safe."