Nicola Sturgeon Covid update RECAP: First Minister to address Scotland's lockdown restrictions as stricter Portugal travel rules come into force
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Nicola Sturgeon Covid update RECAP: First Minister to address Scotland’s lockdown restrictions as stricter Portugal travel rules come into force
Key Events
- All travellers returning from Portugal will have to isolate for 10 days
- Calls to speed up vaccination programme in Scotland as all over 25’s in England and all adults in Wales are invited to apply for their vaccines
Boris Johnson has told members of his Cabinet that the data needs to continue to be scrutinised ahead of any decision on lifting Covid restrictions
The PM told ministers that “while the relationship between cases and hospitalisations has changed, we must continue to look at the data carefully ahead of making a decision on Step 4”.
Officials warn that the government needs to stop maintaining the “false narrative” that children do not transmit Covid and take urgent mitigation measures in schools
Dr Deepti Gurdasani, senior lecturer in epidemiology at Queen Margaret University London, said data showed school children were driving the epidemic in Scotland.
The latest figures show that in the week to 5 June, a total of 137 children aged 14 and under received a positive Covid test every day, compared to 143 a day in the week to 4 January, as the second wave was at its peak.
Dr Gurdasani said mitigation methods such as masks for children of all ages, as well as smaller class sizes and ventilation, were necessary to help prevent the virus spreading further.
Six months ago today the first vaccines were administered in Scotland
The Scottish Government’s first plan was to vaccinate one million people by the end of January. It soon became clear this would not be possible, due to lower than expected supply stocks.
But the rollout gathered pace until mid February, by which time one million people had been given a first dose, before being beset by a series of supply problems.
The rate never picked back up to what it was in mid February, at a peak of 392,000 doses in one week.
But it has accelerated, and last week just over 342,000 jags were given.
The initial target of giving all adults a first dose by the end of Spring, set by former health secretary Jeane Freeman, was revised to the more realistic aim of all over 50s by mid April.
The Scottish Government insisted this target was met, despite protestations from some of the thousands of people over 50 who had not yet been given a dose.
Now 93 per cent of those over 50 have had a first dose, along with 86 per cent of over 40s.
Delays and huge queues seen again outside Edinburgh’s biggest vaccination centre
People were forced to wait for up to three hours to receive their jag’s as one of Edinburgh’s biggest vaccination centres was hit by huge queues again on Monday.
Queues were reported ‘right back to the car park’ at the Royal Highland Centre in a repeat of the delays reported at the venue last month.
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Huge queues with waits of over an hour seen again on Monday at Edinburgh's largest vaccination centre
People were forced to wait for up to three hours to receive their Covid jab as one of Edinburgh’s biggest vaccination centres was again hit by huge queues on Monday.
Professor Devi Sridhar: Nicola Sturgeon covid advisor says children 12 and over should be vaccinated so secondary schools can return to normal
A leading member of Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus advisory group has said children aged 12 and over should be vaccinated to avoid further periods of home learning.
Professor Devi Sridhar, chairman of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, told Good Morning Britain yesterday : “If we want schools to continue without disruption in the autumn and lift restrictions so children can have a normal experience, we need to vaccinate them, and if we wait and watch for the evidence it will be too late in the next few weeks.
“And we can’t use AstraZeneca – the main supply we have – in younger age groups, so we should export AstraZeneca and help countries abroad, send those doses, as well as focusing on our adolescents to make sure they don’t have another year disrupted, because that would be an absolute shame.”
She added: “Children can still get long Covid and can still be chronically ill from this.
“We might as well roll it out in the summer, get those kids covered so secondary schools can go back, normally, this autumn.”
Scottish Government backtracks over claim Euros testing could cause Covid spread
The Scottish Government has rowed back o claims that Covid testing of football fans at the European Championships in Glasgow could create a risk of virus spread.
Faced with mounting calls for testing ahead of the events, the Scottish Government said on Sunday that this measure is “not feasible”, and that queues for testing “could, counter-productively, present a possible Covid risk”.
But an expert said on Monday the risk of transmission associated with testing centres would be “extremely low”.
In response, the Scottish Government has repeated its original statement, but removed the comment about testing creating a possible Covid risk.
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Scottish Government backtracks over claim Euros testing could cause Covid spread
The Scottish Government has rowed back on claims that Covid testing of football fans at the European Championships in Glasgow could create a risk of virus spread.
As covid cases in Scotland rise, what time will Nicola Sturgeon give her covid briefing on Tuesday? How can you watch? And what can we expect?
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus update today:
What time will Nicola Sturgeon give her covid briefing on Tuesday? How can you watch? And what can you expect?
As Nicola Sturgeon is set to give an update on the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, here is all you need to know ahead of the briefing.
Edinburgh MSP calls for walk-in Covid vaccination centres in Capital as case rate doubles
Edinburgh Western Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for door-to-door testing and walk-in vaccination centres in Edinburgh as the Covid case rate doubles in the Capital.
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Edinburgh MSP calls for walk-in Covid vaccination centres in Capital as case rate doubles
Edinburgh Western Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for door-to-door testing and walk-in vaccination centres in Edinburgh as the Covid case rate doubles in the Capital.
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