Cumulative Positive Covid19 Cases in Orkney Now At 36

By theorkneynews on November 19, 2020

As parts of Scotland will move into tier 4 at 6pm on Friday 20th of November the cumulative total of positive Covid cases in Orkney is now at 36.

The stats for the whole of Scotland, 19th of November, are:

1,089 new cases of COVID-19 reported
50 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive
85 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
1,212 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
27,384 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results – 4.6% of these were positive

Orkney is remaining in tier 1 but has been permitted an easing of restrictions so that 2 households of not more than 6 people are able to meet indoors.

The updated information of the levels in Scotland can be found here: Orkney Remains At Tier 1 As Parts of Scotland Move to 4

Scotland has adopted a localised approach to restrictions so that places like Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are not under the same tough limitations as people in major centres of population like Glasgow. In England a different approach has been taken with the whole country in lockdown.

Looking at the R-number in Scotland it does seem that this localised approach, which ensures the economy and some social contact can still take place, is working – albeit slowly. The R number indicates the rate of transmission – so that if it is 1 it means the virus will pass onto 1 other person and so on, adding on contacts each time. The R number is currently between 0.8 and 1.1 in Scotland.

The number of people in hospital and those who are seriously ill, in intensive care, is still very high. Sadly this means that many have died.

As of 15 November, there have been a total of 5,135 deaths registered where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. (National Records of Scotland).

Between 9th to 15th November, 278 deaths were registered that mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, representing an increase of 71 deaths from the previous week.

72 in care homes
198 in hospitals
8 at home or a non-institutional setting

This is a stark reminder to those who look for loopholes in the restrictions or who simply ignore them that the price of doing that may be in the cost of their own life, or those of others.

More data can be found here: Scotland Coronavirus Tracker It provides information about the situation locally, in Scotland and in the UK

Scotland’s NHS has a contact tracing app which is free to download on your phone and works away in the background. You will be alerted if anyone who has been near you has tested positive for Covid. It does not retain your personal information. It is an important additional tool in that if we are out shopping , for example, we may not know people we are coming near to. The more people who have it downloaded to their phone the more effective it is. Click on this link to access it: Protect Scotland