YORK'S Covid rating has improved suddenly from 'red' to 'green' as the city experiences a fall in the number of infections.

City of York Council's weekly 'Covid data tracker' report says that in the seven days to January 15, ten wards - Acomb, Westfield, Rawcliffe & Clifton Without, Dringhouses & Woodthorpe, Wheldrake, Holgate, Rural West York, Guildhall, Bishopthorpe and Micklegate- saw a statistically significant fall in rates compared with the previous seven days.

Other wards saw no statistically significant change in rates and none saw a significant rise.

The report said a Public Health England ‘Exceedance’RAG rating compared the number of new cases over 14 days with the previous six weeks to indicate if the previously observed trend was worsening, and York's latest rating was 'green,' having previously been 'red.'

It said that as of Thursday, there were 10 care homes in the council area with confirmed Covid-19 infection, compared with 15 a week ago, and 44 children tested positive across 25 schools, compared with 95 children at 38 schools a week ago.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid patients at York NHS trust hospitals rose by just three yesterday to 222, with 13 in intensive care, up by one.