NICOLA Sturgeon has said images of packed pubs “made me want to cry” as she announced 18 new Covid-19 cases in Scotland – including 11 in a health board area combating an outbreak.
The number of Covid-19 cases now associated with the outbreak in The Hawthorn Bar in Aberdeen was later announced to have increased to 27.
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing on Monday, the First Minister said there have been no new deaths from the disease for the 18th day in a row.
However, she warned the Aberdeen cluster is “exactly what we feared when we re-opened hospitality”.
The owners of the Aberdeen bar said customers who were there on July 26 tested positive, but it was confirmed by NHS Grampian that they are only showing mild symptoms.
Physical distancing measures were put in place within the pub and contact tracing is being carried out to identify any other potential cases.
Meanwhile, a coronavirus cluster in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area has recorded another case linked to an outbreak.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said one more person – a known contact of earlier cases – has tested positive.
It was previously revealed the cluster had a link to an earlier one at the Sitel call centre in Lanarkshire, first revealed on July 19 and involving more than 20 cases.
The positive cases in the Clyde cluster have been linked to an Amazon warehouse in Gourock and M&D Green pharmacy in Port Glasgow.
Individuals, who may have been infectious at the time, also visited a number of businesses in Greater Glasgow. These included The Botany Bar and Restaurant in Glasgow and a boat trip with Sweeney’s Cruises in West Dunbartonshire, both on
Sunday.
At the Scottish Government briefing, Sturgeon – who earlier warned that scenes of overcrowded bars could lead to the hospitality sector being shut down – said: “Of course it’s not just this incident in Aberdeen, across the county and across social media we are seeing evidence of people – and it is largely younger people – gathering together with little or no physical distancing in place.
“I’ve seen pictures on social media over this weekend that, not to put too fine a point on it, made me want to cry looking at them.”
Later in the briefing, the First Minister said recent increases in daily cases and the clusters being seen were not unexpected when the Scottish Government decided to ease lockdown restrictions.
She said: “In terms of if we’re seeing anything right now that we wouldn’t have expected to see, probably not overall.
“Thus far, the clusters that have materialised, Test and Protect and local teams have worked very effectively to keep them under control and that’s what they’ll continue to do.
“Our objective should be to do everything we can to stop these clusters in the first place and that is what I’m asking people to do.”
Sturgeon said it is likely there will be more Covid-19 clusters in Scotland “in the weeks ahead”.
SNP MP Stephen Flynn had earlier tweeted two photos of Aberdeen city which showed dozens of people queuing to enter pubs. The MP said he was “scunnered” by the images.
Dr Emmanuel Okpo, a consultant in public health medicine, said: “It is not entirely surprising further cases have been detected. This virus is still circulating in our communities. It poses a risk to all of us. People who have not gone to this bar, or who live in other parts of Grampian, should not assume they are somehow ‘safe’.
“Anyone who develops symptoms of Covid-19 – a loss of their sense of taste or smell, a fever, or a new, continuous cough, should isolate at home immediately and arrange a test.
“People working in health and social care in the north east should access the staff testing service; the general public should contact NHS 24 on 111 or use the NHS Inform website to book a test.
“I know the past four months has been extremely challenging for all of us and I understand the desire to meet up and socialise now venues are opening. If you arrive at a venue and feel it is too busy to observe physical distancing, then consider leaving.”
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