Worst in UK: 1 in 20 Scots now infected with Covid

ONE in 20 people in Scotland had Covid last week as case numbers rose at the fastest rate in the UK.

Official estimates yesterday put the number of people with the virus at 250,700 in the week ending June 17.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the infection level was ‘of concern’.

The rate was up from one in 30 – or 176,900 people – the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Kara Steel, senior statistician for the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: ‘Rates have continued to rise across the UK, with the largest increase seen in Scotland. These increases are largely driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. We will continue to closely monitor the data.’

England’s Covid rate stood at one in 40 people in the week ending June 18, while it was one in 45 in Wales and one in 30 in Northern Ireland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘We need to all of us be sensible and take precautions.

‘It’s no longer, for example, a requirement to wear a face covering in an indoor place but right now when cases are rising again, it would be a sensible precaution to wear a face covering if you’re in an indoor place with crowds of people around you.

‘We’ve all got out of the way of doing that in recent weeks, it’s perhaps sensible in the next few weeks to get back into the way of doing that.

‘I had Covid myself a few weeks ago, I would not like to have had it pre-vaccination because it wasn’t pleasant post-vaccination.

‘Vaccination prevents serious illness so my other message is if you’re not up to date with all your doses of vaccine, make sure you come forward and get them now. We need to pull together and get through these challenging peaks in Covid cases when they arise.’

Mr Yousaf encouraged people to stay at home if they have Covid symptoms, and tweeted: ‘While, of course, rising Covid infection levels are of concern, I am pleased we have a highly vaccinated population.’

Rising case numbers have also begun to affect the NHS, with both patients and staff hit.

A fifth of nurses at NHS Lothian are off work because of the virus and the number of patients with Covid has increased by 50 per cent in a week.

Tracey Gillies, medical director of NHS Lothian, said: ‘The number of hospital inpatients who have tested positive has increased by 50 per cent since a week ago. This presents many logistical issues as they need to be cared for within Covid-19 specific areas.

‘On top of that, and in line with community transmission levels, there are increased numbers of staff testing positive who must then self-isolate to protect patients.’

Separate figures from Public Health Scotland published on Wednesday showed that cases of the virus went up by 30.5 per cent in the week to June 19. And hospitals are reporting a rising number of Covidpositive patients, with 931 recorded on Monday – up from fewer than 600 at the end of last month.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘As rates rise to these high levels it is essential that we find a way to keep people safe without having to resort to lockdowns.

‘Far too many people formerly on the shielding list feel like they have been abandoned by the SNP as they wait for their booster vaccine.

‘The SNP must set out how they will protect people amid rising cases, and they must bring forward booster jabs and make antivirals available for the most vulnerable.’

‘Protect people as cases rise’