Coronavirus in Glasgow: Professor Linda Bauld admits concerns over Glasgow covid outbreak 'red flag' ahead of easing of restrictions on Monday

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A leading public health expert has described rising numbers of coronavirus cases in parts of Glasgow as “a red flag that needs to be dealt with” as the country prepares to ease restrictions.

The latest data shows there are 58.3 Covid-19 infections per 100,000 people, and Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government is closely monitoring the situation as most of Scotland moves to Level 2 in the route map out of lockdown on Monday (May 17).

On Wednesday, the First Minister tweeted: “We are seeing an increase in cases in Glasgow just now and, amidst concern about the so-called Indian variant, we are monitoring it very closely.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Read More
Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon says ministers are closely monitoring t...

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme on Thursday, Linda Bauld professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said: “There's three types of Indian variants that we're concerned about.

“The parts of Glasgow that are affected are in the south of the city. There are several postcode areas, as we heard yesterday from Linda de Caestecker, the director of public health at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

“As we look ahead to Monday when there's going to be a lot of easing, questions will be asked about what we do to try and get on top of what looks like a cluster of outbreaks linked to household transmission.”

She added: “We need a robust response. In the past we perhaps have not acted early enough to get on top of outbreaks.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Parts of Glasgow have seen a spike in Covid cases.Parts of Glasgow have seen a spike in Covid cases.
Parts of Glasgow have seen a spike in Covid cases.

Amid speculation the Glasgow outbreaks are being fuelled by the so-called ‘India variant’, Prof Bauld said it is important to find out which variant of coronavirus these cases are coming from.

She said: “A lot has happened over the last 48 hours in terms of data being released. I'm not going to speculate – genomic sequencing takes time – but there is suggestion that this variant may be even more transmissible than the so-called Kent variant.

“If that is the case then the test and protect response needs to be super-robust and we need to identify where these cases are.”

Asked if we may now see areas in Glasgow that can’t move to Level 2 on Monday, Prof Bauld remains “optimistic” but the situation is a cause for concern.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “The number of cases yesterday, where we had over 300 cases... you know, we're back at now the beginning of April, and so just seeing these bumps does make me a bit worried.

“Nationally, I remain optimistic, but I think this is a red flag that needs to be dealt with.”

Meanwhile, weekly deaths from Covid-19 in Scotland have fallen to single figures for the first time since September last year, according to the latest data.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) figures show seven deaths related to coronavirus were registered between May 3 and May 9, down 12 on the previous week.

It is the lowest total in almost eight months.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1873
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice