DESPERATE BID TO AVOID THIRD LOCKDOWN
Health Secretary said it’s vital to keep cases low
SNUMBER OF NEW CASES ACROSS SCOTLAND 532
COTLAND is desperately trying to avoid a third lockdown the health secretary has said as another 500 cases were recorded in the daily figures.
Jeane Freeman said the route out of lockdown with key dates in April was dependent on getting and keeping case numbers low at the same time as successfully rolling out the vaccine programme.
She spoke as countries in mainland Europe are entering a third lockdown, amid rising cases related to new variants including France, Germany and Poland.
The vaccine supply is expected to be interrupted with half a million fewer doses coming to Scotland than was previously expected.
The health secretary said that the half a million doses will when expected come originally and just not appointments will be scheduled to take account of that.
The latest Coronavirus statistics showed there were 532 new positive cases reported across Scotland, which was test positivity rate of 2.9%.
There were 344 people in hospital, down by 23 from the previous day. There were 31 patients in intensive care, the same number as the day before.
No new deaths were registered of a person who contracted Covid -19 in the previous 28 days.
Speaking on Sky News, Freeman said the government as closely monitoring the numbers of cases.
She said: “There has been a small uptick in cases but it is small and we keep an eye on that all the time. The case positivity number, which you also know is one of the important bits of information that you look at all the time, remains relatively low but we just monitor this all the time and we’ve said in all the steps we’ve set out, the First out, intend about Minister to ease how set restrictions. we “All of that of course is dependent on continuing to keep virus numbers low and keep it down, case numbers down, even from where it is just now on the one hand and be able to deliver the vaccination programme on the other. “So, we remain cautiously optimistic I think that everybody we are still knows, on track all your but viewers will know, and certainly those in Scotland know, that this is a constant exercise and what we are desperately trying to avoid – so the approach is cautious – is a return to a third lockdown. “Nobody, nobody wants that, individually for people’s mental health and wellbeing, seeing family and friends but also in economic terms and absolutely in terms of people’s health.” She said the vaccination programme was still on track to reach all over-50s and those with underlying health conditions by the middle of April and then onto the rest of the adult population.
Freeman added: “We are over two million vaccinated now, so we keep looking at it every day. What we will have to be sure to do though is make sure that not only can we deliver first doses but that we are delivering the second dose, which is very important, within the twelveweek window.
“So, that’s the work that’s underway and as of today we still are confident that we can meet that mid-April commitment and we’ll keep on looking at it every day. I look at it every day and my officials work on it constantly.”
Meanwhile, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace yesterday said foreign travel would risk increasing infections.
He said: “We can’t be deaf and blind to what’s going on outside the UK. If we look at Europe, the increases in infections, and we can’t put at risk the huge amount of effort by the taxpayer, by the NHS, by our scientists in developing this vaccine and if we were to be reckless in any way and import new variants that put up risk.
“We’ve got a direction of travel, we’re getting there and I think it is essential that we preserve that at all costs.”
All of that is dependent on continuing to keep virus numbers low