As cases of Covid rise across the UK mainland a stern warning was issued by the First Minister of Scotland , Nicola Sturgeon, of more restrictions having to come into force if the upward trend of cases continues.

Due to delays in the UK Testing procedures it is difficult to get an accurate picture of the spread of Covid19 in England. You can find the areas of England with local restrictions here: England with a curfew from 10pm imposed in the North East of England for several facilities including pubs.

Most of the testing done in Scotland for the public is via the NHS Scotland testing centres. Scotland shares in a 4 nation approach across the UK and testing is also done as part of the UK wide system.

The cases in Scotland which started as region specific are now spreading with even the Western Isles having a confirmed case on Thursday.

Scotland’s Test and Protect scheme includes the downloadable tracing app which alerts you if you have been near to someone who has tested positive. Over a million people have downloaded the NHS app which is for people who live in or who are visiting Scotland.

You can find out about that here: protect Scotland

To download on Apple: App Store

To download on Google: Google Play

The more people who have the NHS Scotland tracing app on their phone the more effective it will be in helping to trace contacts who may be people who do not know each other.

It was also stressed today by both the First Minister and Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director, that individual behaviour plays a vital role in limiting the spread of the highly infectious virus.

Nicola Sturgeon said:

“Please think carefully about non-essential travel at home, as well. In particular, avoid travelling to parts of the UK, that are under tougher restrictions right now because  levels of Covid are rising fastest.”

The FM also warned that cases in older people are again beginning to rise. Although no one is immune from the virus which can have life changing health implications, it is the most vulnerable and the elderly (especially those over 75) who are at most risk of dying from Covid.

Nicola Sturgeon added:

“What lies behind this is a simple reality: we are facing the risk again of exponential growth in Covid.”

The advice was again to work from home wherever possible and to avoid non-essential travel.

“Don’t meet up with any more than six people from a maximum  of two households, indoors and outdoors.”

There are stricter conditions for over a million people in:

• East Dunbartsonshire
• East Renfrewshire
• Glasgow City
• North Lanarkshire
• Renfrewshire
• South Lanarkshire
• West Dunbartonshire

The warning from the FM was clear:

“I am today giving the nation advance notice, that the coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions.

“If we want to avoid another full-scale lockdown, which all of us do, doing nothing almost certainly isn’t an option.”

Over the last few weeks we have all seen how businesses and organisations in our communities have worked incredibly hard to provide safe spaces for both their own workers and for the public. It would be a devastating blow socially and economically to see all that effort placed in danger due to the behaviour of individuals.

Nicola Sturgeon ended her daily briefing with a plea:

“This is down to all of us. We are all in this together and it is only by acting together that we can stop it running out of control and ultimately save lives.”

For the latest statistics click on this link: Scotland Coronavirus Tracker