‘RAPID INCREASE WILL CONTINUE’
Government gives Glasgow £4.8m to support vulnerable
CORONAVIRUS cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde continue to surpass other areas in Scotland as numbers soared by 53 in just 24 hours.
A total of 984 people had been been diagnosed with the deadly virus as of yesterday afternoon.
Lothian follows with 577 positive tests, while Lanarkshire has seen 512 cases of Covid-19.
While Glasgow’s increase was not as steep as that of Saturday to Sunday – which saw a rise of 80 – figures are expected to catch up in the briefings today or tomorrow.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed a further two deaths in Scotland including a care worker from West Dunbartonshire.
During yesterday’s media briefing she revealed there had been an increase of 255 confirmed cases in just 24 hours – bringing the number of those diagnosed to 3961. The Scottish death toll is currently 222.
She said: “We expect these figures will confirm the trend that we have seen over the past 10 days or so of a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Scotland and also sadly the number of deaths.
“Unfortunately, there is almost certainly worse still to come before we turn the corner of this virus.”
The number of patients receiving intensive care treatment has also increased to 199, meanwhile the number of those hospitalised having being confirmed or suspected to have the virus is up to 1599.
In a series of Scottish Government developments that will prepare health and care services and the public for the coronavirus crisis, an £8 million fund for third-sector organisations has been put in place to aid the homeless and vulnerable.
Glasgow City Council will also receive a £4.8m sum which will go towards the government’s Food Fund – a programme that feeds children who are eligible for free school meals, older people, those with long-term health conditions and pregnant women.
On helping those with alcohol and drugs dependencies, Sturgeon announced £166,000 would be made available as part of a wider public campaign to offer support to those battling with addictions.
The First Minister added: “We know that times like these – which are difficult for everyone – are times that people that will need help to deal with alcohol and drug related problems and we want to make sure that help is available.”
Testing capacity in Scotland has been quadrupled to around 2000 tests per day, the First Minister also announced.
She said: “At the beginning of this month health board estimates suggest that approximately 5000 NHS workers or family members had been tested and we expect these numbers to rise considerably in the days ahead.
“At present, just under six per cent of NHS staff are absent from work as a result of this virus.”
Meanwhile, emergency coronavirus legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament has been given royal assent in just five days.
The Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill was unanimously agreed to on Thursday after an 11-hour long sitting of MSPs at Holyrood.
The legislation aimed to make changes to the justice system, housing sector and the operation of public services.
In most circumstances, a Bill has to wait four weeks to allow for legal challenges, however the legislation was fast-tracked to the Queen.
Constitution Secretary Mike Russell said: “The Scottish Government will continue to engage across parties to help us get through the coming months.”