Public Health Scotland publishes the latest data on Covid-19 in Scotland each day. Today’s figures are set out in the table below.
The number of new daily cases reported in Lothian has hovered around 300-400 in the last week.
Booster vaccinations are now available to:
- those living in residential care homes for older adults.
- frontline health and social care workers.
- all adults aged 50 years or over.
- adults aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health. …
- adult carers (aged 16 or over)
- household contacts (aged 16 or over) of immunosuppressed individuals.
You will only be invited for the booster dose six months after the second dose. And you will receive the flu vaccine at the same time as the booster. You should expect a vaccination letter in the post. According to NHS Inform appointments will become available at the end of October at local community clinics. You will also be able to book an appointment on the online portal soon.
The Scottish Government announced this week that there will be no changes to mask wearing at schools when pupils return after half term.
If you wish to see the figures up to 31 August and 30 September for each day (with some highs and lows from the past few months) then please read below and also read this article here.
Scotland has now moved beyond Level 0 but the legal requirement for wearing masks in indoor settings is to be retained largely as it has been.
Any figures marked with * are affected by IT or other reporting issues.
Deaths involving COVID-19 Week 41: 11 October – 17 October 2021
In the week 11 – 17 October, 139 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, a rise of eight from last week.
18 people who died were aged under 65, 29 were people aged 65-74 and there were 92 deaths of people aged 75 or over. 78 people who died were male and 61 were female.
108 deaths were in hospitals, 19 were in care homes and 11 were at home or in a non-institutional setting.
In total, 26 of 32 council areas had at least one death involving COVID-19 last week, including 23 deaths in Glasgow City, 16 in Fife and 10 in North Lanarkshire.
The number of deaths from all causes registered in Scotland in this week was 1,331, which is 252 – or 23% – above the five year average.
Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services, said:
“There were 1,331 deaths from all causes this week, the 21st consecutive week with deaths above the five year average.”
Beyond Level 0
The legal requirement for physical distancing and limits on gatherings has been removed from Monday 9 August when all venues across Scotland are able to re-open.
Some protective measures will stay in place such as the use of face coverings indoors and the collection of contact details as part of Test and Protect. Capacity limits of 2000 people indoors and 5000 people outdoors will also remain in place although some exceptions may be possible on a case by case basis. These will be reviewed on a three weekly basis to ensure they remain proportionate.
Adults identified as close contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 will also no longer be automatically required to self-isolate for 10 days from 9 August. Anyone who is double-vaccinated with at least two weeks passed since their second dose and who has no symptoms will be able to end self-isolation if they return a negative PCR test. The same conditions will also apply to anyone aged between five and 17 years old, even if they have not been vaccinated. The requirement to take a PCR test will not apply to children under the age of five.
Test and Protect will also implement revised guidance for under 18s. This means that the blanket isolation of whole classes in schools will no longer happen and a targeted approach, that only identifies children and young people who are higher risk close contacts, will be adopted. Fewer young people will have to self-isolate, and most will be asked to self-isolate for a much shorter period of time. To allow time to monitor the impacts of these changes, the majority of the mitigations that were in place in schools in the previous term will be retained for up to six weeks. This will help support a safe and sustainable return to education after the summer break.
While the gateway condition on vaccination has been met, with 92% of those over the age of 40 protected by two doses of the vaccine, there are still many more people who have not had the vaccine, cannot have it, or are not yet eligible for it. Invitations for vaccines are now going out to 12 to 17 year olds with specific health conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid. This follows the recent advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The government expects to have offered first doses to this group by the end of August.
The JCVI has now recommended vaccination to young people aged 16 and 17.
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