Coronavirus – Tuesday’s figures

The number of cases of Covid-19 in Scotland were announced by Public Health Scotland today.

The First Minister addressed parliament on Tuesday afternoon setting out details of the next phase of any relaxation of restrictions. Today the highest number of cases is announced in NHS Lothian.

Ms Sturgeon said: I will emphasise that this is a time for continued caution – for government to take the tough decisions necessary to help safeguard the health and wellbeing of the country. So while Scotland will move to level 0 from next Monday, we will do so with certain modifications to our indicative plans. This is intended to ensure that our pace of easing restrictions is sensible in light of the challenge we continue to face from the Delta variant. nd I will confirm that certain mitigations – such as the mandatory wearing of face coverings – will remain in place not just now but, in all likelihood, for some time to come.

Measures like the continued wearing of face coverings are important, not just to give added protection to the population as a whole, but also to give protection and assurance to those amongst us who are particularly vulnerable and previously had to shield.

Lifting all restrictions and mitigations right now would put all of us at greater risk – but in particular it would make it much more difficult for the most clinically vulnerable to go about their normal lives. It would risk the imposition of shielding by default and that is not something we should do.

“As I said earlier, in coming to today’s decisions, the government has had to weigh up both positive and more challenging developments. The continued progress of the vaccination programme is obviously positive.

“Also encouraging is that case numbers – which were rising sharply two weeks ago – now appear to have levelled off. In fact, they have fallen in recent days. In the week to 4th July, an average of 3,300 positive cases per day were recorded.

“The Scottish Government understands the temptation to lift more restrictions more quickly – of course we do. “But in our view, and in line with clinical advice and modelling, a gradual approach stands the best chance of minimising further health harm and loss of life. And also because a gradual approach stands the best chance of being a sustainable approach, it will be better in the long term for the economy as well. So we will continue to ease restrictions – we are not slamming on the brakes – but we will do so carefully. Let me turn then to the detail of our decisions.

“From Monday 19 July, all parts of Scotland not currently there will move to level 0. However, this move will be made with certain modifications – applied consistently across the country – to ensure that we are not easing up faster than is sensible.”

All the details are on The Scottish Government website and are summarised as:

At Level 0:

• you can meet socially in groups:
  • of up to 8 people from 4 households in your home or theirs – and can stay overnight
  • of up to 10 people from 4 households in an indoor public place like a café, pub or restaurant
  • of up to 15 people from 15 households outdoors
• under 12s do not count towards the total number of people or households meeting outside but count towards the household numbers indoors
• you do not need to physically distance from family and friends in a private home
• you can travel anywhere in Scotland in Levels 0, 1 or 2 but must not enter a Level 3 or 4 area unless for a permitted reason
• you can travel anywhere in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands – before you travel you must check the travel rules in those countries
• you can provide informal childcare, for example to look after a grandchild
• up to 200 people can attend weddings and funerals 
• tradespeople can carry out any work in your home such as painting, decorating or repairing
• you should work from home where possible

On Monday the Prime Minister confirmed the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in England, saying at a press conference: “We’ve come to a stage in the pandemic when there is no easy answer or obvious date for unlocking. We have cases rising significantly – with more than 30,000 per day. And we can see what is happening across Europe as the Delta variant takes hold among our friends.

“We know we’re going to see more hospitalisations and more deaths from Covid. But we also know that this wave was clearly foreseen by our scientists when we first set out that roadmap in February.

“And if anything, so far, we are in the middle range of their projections for infections and at the lower end of their projections for mortality.

“And we also know that if we were now to delay this fourth step – for instance to September or later – then we would be re-opening as the weather gets colder and as the virus acquires a greater natural advantage and when schools are back.”

According to Travelling Tabby who keeps the daily records here only 50.7% of people in Edinburgh have been vaccinated which is the lowest in Scotland.

On most days in the past week or so the number of those who have received a vaccination has been less than 30,000.

The revised strategic framework in Scotland sets out the next review point which is 19 July, and that is when any new rules come into place.

After that the next significant date is 9 August when the vast majority of over 40s will have a significant level of protection. At that time it might be possible to move beyond Level 0, but it will depend on the data at the time. But in any case the government will not advise an immediate return to full offices working from 9 August. All of these measures will take time to put back in place.

Statistics

As at 27 June, 10,168 deaths have been registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) on Wednesday.

In the week 21 – 27 June, 17 deaths were registered that mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, an increase of four deaths from the previous week. 

There were two deaths in each of Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire and Midlothian. 

Dundee City, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire all recorded one death each.

The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,043, 24, or 2%, more than the five year average. 

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said: “The latest figures show that last week there were 17 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

“The number of deaths has risen slightly in recent weeks but is still very low relative to the number of Covid-19 cases.

“Two deaths were aged under 65, five were aged 65-74 and there were ten deaths in people aged 75 or over. Four were female and thirteen were male. 

“Fourteen deaths were in hospitals, three deaths were at home or in a non-institutional setting. No care home deaths were registered in week 25.”

The publication Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland is available on the NRS website.

Figures below with an asterisk are provisional and reflect some difficulty in establishing the correct figure.

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Phyllis Stephen

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

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