Death numbers climb slowly upwards and First Minister says wearing a mask in crowded places may be a good idea The basic message is clear though: Dae as yer telt and stey in the hoose. Wash yer hauns frequently with soap and water.
By Bill Heaney
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today (Tuesday) that 10,721 people have tested positive for Covid-19, which is an increase of 200 from yesterday.
No less than 1,754 patients are in hospital with a suspected or confirmed case (down eight), with 126 being treated in intensive care (also down eight).
On their way home from hospital after treatment are 2,448 people who tested positive, but have now gone back to their place of residence following recovery.
And, sadly, further 70 people with coronavirus have died, taking the total to 1,332 deaths in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon told a media conference at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh.
There has been steady progress on increasing testing capacity, however, and there should be a capacity of 3,500 by the end of this month.
She explained that testing has been expanded and cites drive-through centres around the country.
And that all NHS boards will now test all those over 70 who are admitted to hospital for any reason.
They will then be tested every four days during their stay in hospital.
“Yes I am recommending that you do consider as part of the obligation we all have to protect each other to do that, in the circumstances I have set out,” the first minister replied.
“I do not want people to point the finger at those who are not doing so, as they may have asthma for example. The best way you can protect yourself and others is to stay at home and follow the other rules.”
Kieran Jenkins from Channel 4 News said the Care Inspectorate has stated that the Scottish government has fuller data on deaths in care homes and asks why it is not currently available to the press.
Ms Sturgeon said however that the National Records of Scotland publish the total number of people who have died in relation to this virus.
These figures were broken down into location and from them it was possible to learn about excess deaths not attributable to Covid, she explained.
She was “confident” the statistics being published are accurate.
BBC Scotland’s Lisa Summers asks if factory workers should be wearing face mask – “This guidance may well develop,” explained the first minister, who repeated that it applied to situations where someone may find themselves “in an enclosed space where it’s not easy to keep a safe distance”.
She added: “Under the current rules, you should not find yourself in these situations. We don’t want people to think they are invincible,” said the first minister. “This is not a licence to do what you want to do.”
And in response to a question from STV’s Evanna Holland, Ms Sturgeon said the new advice was given partly because so many people were already choosing to wear face coverings in public and there was a great need to stress that social distancing and hand-washing were far more effective deterrents.
Summary
Maybe Sarah Smith should be asking if it was a good idea to let the virus spread for six weeks.
Maybe she should also ask why the government didn’t prepare and have a stock of PPE – and still don’t have enough.
Maybe Sarah Smith should ask why on the 19th March 2019 the UK Government reclassified Covid 19 to a non – High Consequencec Infectious Disease – perchance to allow them to relax the PPE requirements that they couldn’t meet.
Ah the Great British public – like lambs to the slaughter, or at least the older ones.