Tribute to the 355 who died of Covid

East Ayrshire Council’s chief executive has marked the second anniversary of the Covid lockdown by remembering residents who died having caught the virus.

More than a third of East Ayrshire residents, around 43,000, have tested positive for Covid in the two years since the announcement of lockdown on March 23, 2020.

Eddie Fraser, the EAC chief executive, took time to remember the 355 people who died having tested positive for the virus.

He also warned that Covid continued to impact on the people of East Ayrshire, while praising the impact of a vaccination programme that has seen almost three-quarters of over 12s in the authority receiving three doses of the vaccine.

He said:“Public services are still under enormous pressure, particularly in areas such as education, health and social care and in recent days, there has been a rise in the number of people in hospital testing positive for Covid.

“The pandemic has claimed the lives of too many people and my heartfelt condolences go out to everyone who has lost loved ones to the virus and to other causes, during this time.

“Thankfully, the mass vaccination programme has weakened the link between infection and severe illness and this is making a huge difference to the impact of the current wave.

“The majority of restrictions have now been removed and it is likely that we will soon see the legal requirement for face coverings lifted too, but as life returns to ‘normal’, it is clear that things will never be quite the same again.”