Record high in deaths and hospital numbers
HOSPITAL admissions have reached a higher level than they were at t he he i ght of t he coronavirus pandemic last April. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the numbers showed how important it was that everyone stuck to the new lockdown rules.
She also revealed the number of deaths registered in the past 24 hours was 93, which was higher than the previous record of 84.
The numbers come as Scotland’s police chief said officers would enforce lockdown rules as we go into the first weekend of the new tougher restrictions.
Sturgeon said the latest daily statistics showed there were 1530 people in hospital who had tested positive for coronavirus, an increase of 63 on the day before.
She said the figure was now higher than it was at its peak last April, when it hit 1520 in a single day.
The latest figures showed there were 102 people in intensive care, an increase of two on the previous day. There were 2309 new positive tested cases recorded across Scotland in the past 24 hours.
Greater Glasgow and Clyde area accounted for 692 of the new cases – 390 were in Lanarkshire and 220 were in Lothian.
There were 93 deaths registered of a person who had tested positive in the past 28 days.
The number of deaths does not represent those which occurred on that one day, but which were registered on that day.
The First Minister said there was some evidence that people were still moving around more than during the first lockdown.
She said the Government was “considering if any more restrictions are needed for this lockdown to be as effective as we need it to be”.
The First Minister said it was being looked at whether there had to be further closures of businesses including click- and- collect services and takeaways to reduce further the number of people who are leaving home.
She said: “As I indicated yesterday, we are reviewing whether any further restrictions are necessary to maximise the effect of this lockdown.
“But, to be clear, the country is now in lockdown.
“Every single one of us must play our part in slowing down the spread of this virus – reducing the number of people who get infected – while the vaccination programme starts to have an impact.
“And the best way of doing that is to stick to the new lockdown rules. Please stay at home.”
Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said that the rules would be enforced and police presence would be deployed to act as a deterrent.
He said since last March officers had made 100,000 interactions with people over coronavirus, issued 7000 fixed penalty notices and made 550 arrests.
Mr Livingstone said officers had made 350 interventions at different premises and closed nearly 90 of them.
He said: “To support this public health imperative, as Chief Constable I will maximise policing’s visible presence in our communities and on our roads – to help people; to offer reassurance; but also to act as a deterrent to those who may be thinking of breaching restrictions.”
The Chief Constable said that while the rules have changed, the police response would be the same as before and would “remain proportionate, reasonable and fair”.
He added: “Make no mistake, if we need to take enforcement action we will.”