It was confirmed yesterday that there will be no easing of lockdown in any part of Scotland. The advice for Scotland remains Stay At Home.

In Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) there have been no new positive tests of Covid19 with the number confirmed there remaining at 6 and no deaths. In Orkney tragically there have been 2 deaths but again no new cases for some time, the number tested positive remaining at 7.

In contrast, in Scotland’s more populated areas across the central belt and in hotspots like Angus the number of positive tests continues to be of concern.

In her Q&A with journalists on Friday 15th of May, Nicola Sturgeon, confirmed that there would be no differentiation in any part of Scotland – the advice would remain the same for every area.

This week people in England were encouraged to return to work and many used public transport to get there. Garden centres also opened in England. Wales and Northern Ireland kept to the Stay at Home message.

Link: Scotland Coronavirus Tracker

Dental Services

A rapid review of dental services has been conducted across the UK in how best to re-open dental services when the lockdown ends.

The group was led by Professors Craig Ramsay from the University of Aberdeen and Jan Clarkson from The University of Manchester.

Professor Ramsay said:

“We identified sources from 11 countries and found relevant recommendations fell into five themes: practice preparation, personal protective equipment, management of the clinical area, dental procedures, and cleaning and disinfection.

“The review collates the range of recommendations related to each theme from the various sources identified. I would like to stress that this review is not guidance but, in the absence of robust evidence, it should assist policy and decision makers in producing national guidance for their own settings.”

Professor Janet Clarkson added:

“There is now an urgent need to map out how dental services are to return to providing wider patient care. Given that we have only really known about Covid-19 for about 120 days, robust evidence to inform how to approach re-opening is scarce or non-existent.

“The same concerns exist across the world and therefore we decided to formally review the recommendations being produced in different countries as a resource for decision makers.

“Conducting this review has been a hugely collaborative international effort and I am extremely grateful to all those involved for working so hard to complete it in such short time.”

The Scottish Government has written to Health Boards on how they will manage acute and essential dental problems. Re-opening would only happen if it can be done safely.

Link: Those Living in Poverty in Scotland Twice As Likely To Die From #Covid19

Art work by Stewart Bremner