Covid Scotland RECAP: Nicola Sturgeon speaks to nation in TV address | Scots facing new covid restrictions | Booster roll out accelerated
and live on Freeview channel 276
Nicola Sturgeon is addressing parliament right now with an update on coronavirus.
She is thought to be introducing new restrictions as the new Covid variant Omicron is predicted to hit the country hard.
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Hide AdThe First Minister will also be on a televised address to the nation this evening.
Follow here for all updates through out the day.
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Omicron Scotland Update Live: Follow here for all updates as the First Minister addresses the nation
The public has been warned of scam text messages and emails that use the Omicron variant of Covid-19 to attempt to scare people into handing over personal information.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said it has seen evidence of messages being sent to the public pretending to be from the NHS, asking people to “apply now for Omicron PCR test to avoid restrictions”.
The scam message claims that older PCR tests cannot detect the Omicron variant and that a new type of test is needed and that people should sign up for it - claiming those who refuse to be tested will be forced to isolate.
The fake message then links to a website mimicking the official NHS site and asks people to fill in a form of personal details which the CTSI warns could be used to access personal information, including bank accounts.
The Scottish Parliament starts with ‘Time for Reflection’ - this time from Canon Gerard Tartaglia who is talking about young people and their struggles during the pandemic.
The First Minister is up next - slightly earlier than initially expected.
3,177 postive cases reported yesterday. (FM appeals for people to go to PCR test if they have symptoms).
541 people are in hospital with Covid.
2 confirmed cases of Omicron in hosp.
38 people are in intensive care.
6 people have died.
New variant spreading faster than previous variants.
Doubling time is 2-3 days.
Expect Omicron to be dominant strain within days.
“In recent months, the proportion of Delta cases needing hospital care has been around 2%.
“That means an average daily case number of around 2,700 - as has been the case in recent weeks - will result in around 400 hospital admissions a week.
“But if cases rise significantly to, say, 10,000 a day because of Omicron’s greater transmissibility - and this is well within the modelled estimates in the evidence paper we published on Friday - then even if the hospitalization rate turned out to be half that of Delta’s at just 1%, we would see 700 hospital admissions a week.
“The basic fact is this: a much more transmissible infection - even if milder in terms of severe illness - can still place a bigger burden on the NHS.
“More people infected will result in more severe illness and, tragically, more people will die.”
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