New data reveals hotspots

New Covid- 19 data is allowing health officials to keep track of active cases within Renfrewshire’s towns and village.

An area of Barrhead, in neighbouring East Renfrewshire, has emerged as having the biggest local cluster, with 19 cases in just seven days.

And only two communities in Renfrewshire are completely Covid-19 free - Foxbar and Ralston, both in Paisley.

Public Health Scotland ranks Renfrewshire as the sixth worst affected area in Scotland.

East Renfrewshire is the fourth highest of a five-strong group in the red zone where cases are more than 100 per 100,000 population.

Figures for the seven days leading up to Sunday, October 4 reveal there were 177 positive results in Renfrewshire, which equates to 98.8 cases per 100,000 people.

In East Renfrewshire, the figure was 122 people, with 128 cases per 100,000.

The new data creates an accurate picture of virus flares, rather than only getting figures within the entire NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

Renfrewshire’s figures were distorted as Glasgow is the nation’s hotspot - 1,333 cases in the week to October 4, or 210 per 100,000 population.

The most worrying local outbreaks are in Barrhead, Johnstone southeast, and Paisley north.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “The local neighbourhood a reas are based on population, not geographical size, and vary between 2,500 and 6,000 residents.

“It will help people to understand the course of the pandemic, not just across the country, but in your local area and how it is affecting different demographics of the population.”

The five Renfrewshire communities with the highest number of cases are: Paisley north with 15, Johnstone southeast – 13, rural north and Langbank – 13, Paisley northeast – ten and Renfrew east – ten.

To view the statistics, visit https://tabsoft.co/2SAAMdm