Coronavirus round-up: Elderly man dies, everything cancelled

It’s only been a few months since coronavirus was detected, but the virus has gone on to dominate the news around the world.

Here’s some of what happened in Scotland today.

Deadly day

Another tragic day in the fight against coronavirus, as another man fell victim to the virus. The man was only described as “elderly with underlying health conditions” and from the Glasgow area. While the Government isn’t testing everyone with symptoms, it is still reporting daily confirmations for some reason. The latest report has the number of cases at 195 (out of 5246 tests).

NHS builds it defences

Scotland’s health care system is racing to beat the clock, with many non-urgent elective surgeries postponed to make way for an expected flood of cases needing attention. The NHS has ordered 350 oxygen concentrators and conscripted senior medical students to help provide care to anyone showing up with serious symptoms.

No Euro 2020 for Scotland

We already knew domestic football was at an end, and now Scotland’s national team is guaranteed to miss Euro 2020. They’re not alone though, because the entire tournament has been postponed until 2021 to allow time for leagues to recover and audiences to venture out of the house again. In boxing news, Josh Taylor’s first title defence since becoming unified world champion has been cancelled.

Stay home, also stay in the country

Don’t leave the country unless absolutely necessary for the next 30 days, the Government warned as it escalated its response. It follows guidance from the Prime Minister on Monday that UK citizens should avoid all non-essential contact with others, stop all unnecessary travel and avoid going to social venues like pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres. That shouldn’t be too intrusive to travellers – more and more countries are closing their borders. But remember – schools are still open.

No show

Major chains including Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse have announced plans to close their doors for the foreseeable future, following updated guidance on the Covid-19 outbreak. STV News had been running a list of closures, but at this point it’s impossible to keep up and would be easier to list what’s still open. If in doubt, call ahead.

Scotland’s most remote outbreak

Shetland’s 22,000 residents are warily going about their lives, despite the island’s status as one of the most virus-hit areas per capita in the UK. Reporter Ross Govans asked everyone how they were holding up. “I’m trying to take every precaution I can, inside the work place and make sure I have income coming in to protect my workforce so they can pay their bills and carry on as much as possible,” one cafe owner told him.

And there’s more…

The news was relentless. Laura Ashley went into administration, the Orange Order decided to stop parading, the country’s largest agricultural fair was cancelled.

For rolling updates, we are also running a live blog.