SCOTLAND’S national clinical director has said it looks as if the country could be “turning the corner” on Covid.
Professor Jason Leitch said the latest data had left him “mildly hopeful” as “48 hours of reducing numbers” showed the country was moving in the right direction.
Another 18 deaths from coronavirus were recorded yesterday, with 525 positive tests in the past 24 hours.
There were 898 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, down 26 in 24 hours, and 74 patients were in intensive care, down six.
As of Saturday morning, 1,570,153 people had received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, an increase of 27,224 since Friday.
Leitch said: “A third of the adult population are now vaccinated – that is unbelievable.
“And if we can get the prevalence down, it looks as though we are maybe just turning the corner – it is very, very stubborn. But it looks as though we might be.”
He added: “If we don’t get any more surprises from the virus, the second half of the year will be much better than the first half.”
Yesterday a new walk-through Covid testing centre was opened in Granton, Edinburgh, as part of the UK Government’s network of sites.
Meanwhile, pubs, restaurants, shops and other businesses hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic will be boosted by a £5 billion grant scheme to help them reopen as the lockdown is eased.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the “restart grants” worth up to £6000 per premises to help non-essential retailers reopen and trade safely at his Budget on Wednesday. Hospitality, hotels, gyms, as well as personal care and leisure firms, will be eligible for up to £18,000 per premises as they are due to open later under the plans for easing lockdown.
The £5bn is targeted at England, but the devolved nations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive an extra £794 million in funding through the Barnett formula.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel