NICOLA Sturgeon will today update Holyrood on the pandemic as cases continue to surge in Scotland and pressures mount on the NHS.
The First Minister’s 20-minute statement will take place at 2.20pm and comes amid increasing challenges for the health service as staff try to catch up with a backlog of patient treatment paused earlier during the coronavirus crisis and treat people in hospital with Covid-19.
Last week she said Cabinet had decided not to introduce new restrictions as there had been a drop in the number of new daily infections recorded in Scotland.
However, the First Minister said that the situation was still “challenging” and that the number of new daily cases was five times higher than at the beginning of August.
She also pointed to the return of students to campus this month which she said posed a further public health risk.
Two days after her statement to parliament, major pressures emerged on the ambulance service after it was reported a Glasgow man died while waiting 40 hours for paramedics following a fall at his home while in a separate incident an 86-year-old woman had to wait eight hours for an ambulance after she broke her hip.
The First Minister told MSPs on Thursday the military were being asked to help the ambulance service. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is due to give a statement at 3.20pm to MSPs on the service immediately after Sturgeon’s update on the pandemic.
Scotland moved to the lowest levels of curbs on July 19, with most remaining restrictions lifted on August 9. Face masks must remain worn in shops and on public transport.
Meanwhile, a total of 2917 new coronavirus cases were confirmed yesterday in Scotland.
You can watch the First Minister's update live on The National's YOUTUBE and FACEBOOK pages.
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