More Covid-19 controls to be announced within days as cases rise

A total of 153 people have tested positive for the illness in Scotland, according to officials figures released yesterday.

This includes 39 in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area and 28 in the Lothians. Another 16 cases were detected in Lanarkshire – including six cases in one care home – and 15 were recorded in Tayside. Across the country, 4420 tests have taken place.

The figures were announced against a backdrop of rising concern across the UK as a whole, where authorities have recorded 35 coronavirus deaths, including one in Scotland.

Highgate Care Home in North Lanarkshire said it had put in place “strict infection control measures” after it identified six cases of Covid-19. It is understood none of the infected residents has so far required hospital treatment.

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Health Secretary Jeane Freeman will take part in a Cobra meeting with the UK Government today. Yesterday she said the Scottish Government was working to double the number of intensive care beds available for Covid-19 patients to 380.

Appearing on the Politics Scotland programme, she said it was “unlikely” that health chiefs would have to use temporary facilities, stating: “We are looking at what we need to do to increase capacity in our existing hospitals. That will include slowing down and stopping elective work.”

People showing coronavirus symptoms will no longer be routinely tested for the infection, as the Scottish Government’s approach changes.

Only those admitted to hospital with flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties, NHS staff and “key workers”, will be routinely tested for Covid-19 as part of the updated policy.

Scotland’s chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood said the “surveillance testing” plan would “enable us to understand the pattern and spread of coronavirus in the community, to develop a clear assessment of the situation and to predict the peak number of cases, without having to test everyone with possible symptoms”.

All those with mild Covid-19 symptoms. including a persistent dry cough and fever, are asked to stay at home for seven days and not to call NHS 24 or seek a GP appointment unless symptoms become severe or they have underlying health problems.

Those experiencing breathlessness are advised to seek help and report potential Covid-19 symptoms.

Almost 14,000 calls were made to the free phone line on Saturday and more than 8000 had been  received by 2pm yesterday.

Freeman said today’s talks would include discussion of the timing of “additional steps” on public protections, with further decisions from Holyrood expected “in the next few days”.

She said she was working with Westminster to ensure the increased manufacture of ventilators and other essential health equipment.

Boris Johnson is today expected to ask manufacturers to use their production lines to make ventilators in a “national effort” due to the health emergency. Yesterday UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there were about 5000 of the devices in the UK but “we think we need many times more than that and we are saying ‘if you produce a ventilator then we will buy it’.”

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has issued official guidance to event organisers, urging that gatherings of 500 or more people do not take place.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the recommendation last week.

In a fresh statement, she said: “At a time when there is severe pressure on our fantastic emergency and public services as a result of the virus, it is only right that we seek to remove unnecessary burdens on frontline workers.

“By advising organisers not to hold large gatherings of 500 people or more in Scotland, we are enabling services to prioritise their resources to where they are needed most.

“This is just one of the ways that life will change in the coming weeks and months, and while this will cause some disruption it will help us all to prepare for the virus and to protect ourselves and each other in the long run.

“As the amount of work required to fight Covid-19 increases over the next few days and weeks it is vital that people continue to follow the health advice such as handwashing and staying at home if you have any mild symptoms.”

Last night it was announced that Dunblane High School would be closed from today until further notice after a pupil tested positive for COVID-19. A deep clean of the school will take place immediately, and pupils and staff have been asked to stay at home until advised otherwise by Stirling Council.

Angus Council also announced that one of its primary schools would be closed until Wednesday to allow for a deep clean to take place. Murroes Primary, which has almost 100 youngsters on its roll, will be disinfected in light of a suspected positive Covid-19 case there.

Elsewhere, Dundee and Strathclyde universities are among the educational institutions to announce the suspension of face-to-face classes to reduce the infection risk to students and staff. Teaching will move online from today, while Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University will follow suit from Wednesday.