Hospital cases on the rise

Almost half of Perth and Kinross 18 to 29 year-olds are believed to have not yet had their first vaccination against Covid-19.

And hospital admissions for the coronavirus almost doubled overnight on Wednesday into Thursday last week.

On July 1 a spokesperson for NHS Tayside said the health board had 36 Covid patients in hospital – with two in high dependency and two in intensive care.

The day before, the chief officer of Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), Gordon Paterson, told a meeting of the Integration Joint Board (IJB) there were approximately 20 patients in hospital.

NHS Tayside subsequently confirmed the number of hospital cases rose sharply overnight.

Perth SNP councillor Eric Drysdale and local health chief Mr Paterson are encouraging everyone who has not had the vaccine to get it.

Cllr Drysdale chairs the Perth and Kinross IJB and sits on the NHS Tayside board.

He said 51.1 per cent of 18 to 29 year-olds in the region had received their first dose of the vaccine, and 18.7 per cent both doses.

This is compared to 77.7 per cent of 30 to 39 year-olds receiving their first dose, with the figure for both doses 24.9 per cent.

Cllr Drysdale said:“That’s an encouraging uptake but it still means almost half of the 18-29 year-olds in the population haven’t had a vaccine.”

Cllr Drysdale believes fans mixing indoors watching the UEFA Euro 2020 football tournament – particularly the England v Scotland game –is behind this latest spike.

Almost 2000 cases in Scotland as a whole have been linked to watching the football.

He said:“As we all know it’s the indoor mixing that really matters.

“If people have been piling onto crowded transport it’s going to have spread.

“This is not over. We are now entering a new phase and hopefully we can get on top of it.”

At the June 30 meeting of the Perth and Kinross IJB HSCP chief officer Mr Paterson said positive cases in Tayside and Scotland were higher than they had ever been.

Between June 21 and June 27, 505 positive cases were registered in Perth and Kinross at a seven-day infection rate of 332 per 100,000.

The NHS Tayside rate – 504 per 100,000 – is the second highest of any Scottish health board, just behind Lothian at 555 per 100,000.

Mr Paterson said:“Those people who are admitted to hospital tend to be people who haven’t had their second dose of the vaccination.

“It is really important that people get vaccinated. It’s really important that people take up that offer.”

Drop in vaccination clinics are continuing in Perth and Kinross for those over the age of 18.