Numbers almost doubled in county

Coronavirus case numbers almost doubled last week as Lanarkshire recorded its highest weekly tally of the pandemic so far.

The Scottish Government confirmed there had been another 518 cases recorded in the county on Sunday, August 22 – the third highest daily figure on record.

As a result, there were 3197 positive tests in the region last week– up 95 per cent on the previous week and 478 higher than the previous record high set in October 2020.

A new daily record of 552 cases was announced on Friday, August 20, surpassing the previous record of 520 set on October 21, 2020.

Three of the four days where more than 500 cases have been confirmed in Lanarkshire in a single day have come in the last week.

There have now been more than 60,000 cases recorded in Lanarkshire, meaning that approximately one in every 10 people across the county has tested positive for Covid-19.

Last week was the third consecutive week in which case numbers have increased in the region and the ninth in a row in which more than 1000 positive tests have been recorded.

Last week, Lanarkshire had the third highest rate of new cases in Scotland after 452.4 were recorded for every 100,000 residents in the county.

Across Scotland, only Dumfries and Galloway (584) and Greater Glasgow and Clyde (490.4) had a higher rate, while the national average was 364.6 cases per 100,000.

A further three Covid-19 related deaths were announced in Lanarkshire over the last week.

In July, 32 people in Lanarkshire died from Covid – the most since March. So far in August, a further 13 deaths have been recorded.

In total, 61,971 people have tested positive for Covid in Lanarkshire and 1385 people have died from the virus.

Lanarkshire has been the worst affected region in Scotland, with 9,361.7 cases and 209.2 deaths for every 100,000 residents.

Across the region, 494,538 people – 93.4 per cent of the adult population – have received their first dose of a vaccination and 449,859 – 84.9 per cent – have received both doses.