Coronavirus: Infection rates still rising in some council areas

The rate of new Covid-19 infections is continuing to rise in East Renfrewshire, with the local authority area now seeing a case rate of 94.2 per 100,000 people.

The rate is higher than Glasgow’s when it was announced on Friday the city would be kept in level three restrictions.

Figures from Public Health Scotland published on Tuesday showed the rolling seven-day average in all Scottish council areas up until Saturday, May 15.

This rate is also rising in Midlothian and is currently at 57.3, having more than doubled in a week.

The latest seven-day average per 100,000 population in Glasgow is 104.6 cases, well above the level two benchmark of 50 cases.

In Moray, the case rate has fallen from 59.5 to 48.

An urgent question is being asked in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon about rising cases in Glasgow and the surrounding area.

It comes as Scotland recorded 268 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the latest Scottish Government figures show.

No new deaths have been recorded meaning the death toll under this daily measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – remains at 7664.

A total of 230,042 people have tested positive for the virus and the daily test positivity rate is 1.7%, up from 1.6% the previous day.

A total of 70 people were in hospital on Monday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up two, with four patients in intensive care, up one.

So far, 3,045,152 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 1,669,469 have received their second dose.

Meanwhile, NHS Fife said five or more individuals have had to self-isolate at more than a dozen schools across the local authority area where a case of Covid-19 has been identified in a pupil or member of staff.

The schools that have been affected are:

Balwearie High School – Kirkcaldy
Beath High School – Cowdenbeath
Bell Baxter High School – Cupar
Burntisland Primary School
Dunfermline High School
Gallatown Nursery – Kirkcaldy
Glenwood High School – Glenrothes
King’s Road Primary School – Rosyth
Kirkcaldy High School
Kirkcaldy North Primary School & Nursery
Mountfleurie Nursery – Leven
Queen Anne High School – Dunfermline
Rosslyn School – Kirkcaldy
Sinclairtown Primary School – Kirkcaldy
South Parks Nursery – Glenrothes
St Columba’s RC High School – Dunfermline
Touch Primary School – Dunfermline
Warout Primary School – Glenrothes
Woodmill High School – Dunfermline

A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: “We are aware of an increase in Covid-19 cases in the Kirkcaldy area, including instances of the new B.1.617 variant first identified in India.

“People in the local area are being urged to get tested at one of the drop-in testing venues in Kirkcaldy. Details of these are available at: www.nhsfife.org/communitytesting.”