Concern as Covid cases rise

Almost 70 new cases of Covid- 19 in the Greater Glasgow area - including Renfrewshire - are “causing some concern”, the First Minister admitted.

Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament yesterday that 66 new cases of the virus had been confirmed in the health board area in the previous 24 hours.

They add to the 69 new cases announced on Monday as Ms Sturgeon said the area continues to be monitored closely.

She had earlier said that the worrying rise in cases was being investigated.

But initial enquiries show they appear to be the result of multiple small outbreaks across the area, as opposed to one single place or event.

The figures were confirmed as the Scottish Government said its new app to help support the Test Trace and

Protect strategy will be launched within weeks.

The app will bolster safety measures by notifying users if they have been in contact with anyone with the disease.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Later this month, we will launch ‘Protect Scotland’ - our new proximity tracing app.

“The app will provide an additional means of notifying and giving advice if you’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive - even if you don’t know them and they don’t know you.”

She added: “We’ll also make access to testing more accessible.

“By the end of October, 11 new walk in testing centres will open across Scotland - rising to 22 over the course of winter.”

To date, trace and protect experts have been called into four Renfrewshire schools including Todholm Primary in Paisley, Wallace Primary in Elderslie, St James’ Primary in Renfrew and Castlehead High in Paisley.

All cases were detected within four days but none of them are understood to have been linked, with all affected people said to have contracted the virus through clusters in the community as opposed to the school setting.