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04
Nov 2020
Harrogate district set to enter second national lockdown
The Harrogate district will enter lockdown for the second time this year at midnight tonight.
Restaurants, bars, non-essential shops and hotels will close, dealing a huge blow to the hospitality sector, which is a big part of the local economy. When they will re-open is unclear.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced another shutdown to combat rising infection levels and ease pressure on the NHS.
The move has prompted widespread anxiety.
Georgia Eckert, of Imagines Things Bookshop in Harrogate, said the lockdown comes “at the worst possible time” for retail.
Her store and other non-essential retailers will have to close with just eight-weeks to go until Christmas.
Meanwhile, despite the furlough scheme being extended until December, the self-employed in the district also have concerns.
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP criticised for lockdown U-turn
- Closing Harrogate teepee after three days a ‘devastating blow’
- Harrogate retailer says second lockdown would be ‘devastating’
Mr Johnson has insisted stricter measures are necessary.
In the Harrogate district, the weekly covid infection rate stands at 252 per 100,000 people which is above the national average.
While hospitals in other parts of the country have seen increased admissions, Harrogate District Hospital is currently treating 15 coronavirus patients.
Public health bosses also announced today the district will gets its own local test and trace system.
The move comes just weeks after the town opened its own permanent coronavirus testing site off Dragon Road.
The government has said the measures will be reviewed in four-weeks time but what seems certain is that lockdown will test the district's businesses to the limit.
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