‘There are a lot of things that are different to last time we opened York up’

Things have changed in York since the last time the city was allowed out of lockdown, says Sharon Stoltz, director of public health.

“The vaccine programme is going really well,” she said. “People who have had already had Covid will have a degree of natural immunity. We are also starting from a low case level. Our rates are really low. We also have more testing facilities.

“If people get into the habit of taking a Covid test, that would be a huge help for us because it would give us an early indication if cases rise.”

Ms Stoltz encouraged people to enjoy themselves but “use common sense and don’t go crazy,” adding that we should not be hugging friends and family outside our households yet.