Residents in Moray told to self-isolate in Covid surge
Residents in Moray have been warned to stick to Covid-19 restrictions amid a surge in cases and reports of people not self-isolating when advised to do so. figures in NHS Grampian warned the region may not be allowed to move to level two with the rest of the country on May 17 if cases do not fall before then.
Moray currently has the highest rates of Covid in the country, with a seven-day positivity rate of 81.4 per 100,000.
East Dunbartonshire has the second highest with 41.4, while neighbouring Aberdeenshire and Highland are at 11 and Scotland as a whole sits at 21.4.
Scottish Government guidance indicates that an area must have fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 in order to be considered for level two restrictions.
Paul Southworth, consultant in public health at NHS Grampian, said: “The situation in Moray is continuing to worsen. Last week the rate was around 50 per 100,000 and that is rising rapidly. We have also seen an increase in covid hospital admissions from Moray this week.
“In the last seven days Moray has seen 55 per cent of Grampian’s cases – but has less than 17 per cent of the population.
“We’re continuing to see an upward trend and we are yet to see the impact of any mixing over the May Day weekend, so it is possible the situation could worsen in the coming days.”
Health bosses at Dr Gray’s Hospital, in Elgin, said local knowledge had indicated that some people were choosing to break the rules by entering other people’s houses and organising gatherings.
Jamie Hogg, divisional clinical director at Dr Gray’s Hospital, said: “The local population has done exceptionally well to this point and Moray has escaped the worst of the pandemic – it’s had lower numbers of cases, lower infection rates, it’s often been in lower levels – but that could be about to change.
“Anecdotally we’re being made of aware of people either with symptoms or who have been asked to self-isolate by contract tracers not doing so – our message today is simple, self-isolate or Moray will become isolated.
"The area will see further increases potentially leading to hospitalisations and possibly deaths. It is vital to protect each other, protect business and the wider region that people self-isolate and get a test when they have symptoms or when they are asked to do so by Test and Protect.”
Moray Council chief executive Roddy Burns said: “Ultimately if the situation continues to escalate we may find ourselves living with restrictions which could severely impact on our daily lives – affecting education, businesses being able to operate or using sporting facilities if rates continue to increase.
"We could either be left behind in terms of unlocking or even see other, stronger, restrictions imposed on the region.
“It’s vital that everyone continues to play their part in protecting each other, protecting businesses and ultimately protecting Moray.”
Tourism industry figures warned the rising levels of Covid-19 and fears the region could be subject to tougher restrictions than the rest of the country is already having an impact on local businesses, with holiday bookings being cancelled.
Meanwhile, preparations are under way for all Scots over 50 to be given a booster Covid-19 vaccine shot in autumn, UK ministers have said.
UK vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said scientists are looking at a range of options for the booster, including new vaccines altered to cope with variants, or mixing the type of injection on offer.
It comes as Scotland nears the target of having given a first dose to all over-50s and those with underlying health conditions.
The Scottish Government has previously said a rollout of booster vaccines in the autumn is likely, especially for those most vulnerable.
Mr Zahawi said England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-tam is conducting a clinical trial to look at “which vaccine delivers the best boost”.
He said: “We want them to be able, if they need to, from Septemberonwards to boost those that are most vulnerable.”
However, a new study has found scottish people are most likely to think the coronavirus pandemic has been dealt with badly and find Prime Minister Boris Johnson untrustworthy on Covid-19 issues.
Trust in the UK Government has deteriorated most in Scotsenior
land, according to research by the University of Bristol and King's College London, while a majority of Scots (55 per cent) believe the pandemic has been mishandled.
Across the rest of the UK, 51 per cent of people in Wales, 45 per cent of those in Northern Ireland and 40 per cent in England also feel the pandemic has been handled badly. A total of 55 per cent of the Scottish public say the overall experience of the pandemic has decreased their level of trust in the UK Government - the same percentage who think it has been handled either fairly or very badly.
Just 8 per cent of Scots said the overall experience has increased their trust in the Conservative Government
at Westminster. The increased distrust in Scotland is far higher than Wales (43 per cent) and Northern Ireland (43 per cent), while 34 per cent of people in England said their trust in Mr Johnson's Government had decreased. An overwhelming majority of people across the UK believe the vaccine rollout has been handled well, although the Scottish Government is the worst-performing devolved administration in the eyes of its citizens. 14 per cent of Scottish respondents said the rollout had been handled badly, compared to 8 per cent of Welsh and 6 per cent of Northern Irish residents of their governments.