Is lockdown in Scotland working? These are the areas where Covid infections are falling fastest

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The majority of council areas have seen a drop in infections

Scotland entered a fresh lockdown on 5 January, and the tight restrictions are expected to continue until at least the end of February.

The lockdown, initially imposed in mainland Scotland while the island communities stayed in Level 3 of the tier system, came amid fears over the new UK strain of Covid-19 that had been linked with an exponential rise in cases in the south of England.

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So, is the newest lockdown in Scotland working - and which places have seen the biggest drop in cases?

Scotland has been locked down for over a month - so is it working? (Getty Images)Scotland has been locked down for over a month - so is it working? (Getty Images)
Scotland has been locked down for over a month - so is it working? (Getty Images)

Here’s what the latest statistics from Public Health Scotland and the JPI Media data team tell us.

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Is lockdown working in Scotland?

The country has now been in lockdown for over a month.

The latest figures show 27 out of 32 council areas in Scotland have seen a drop in infections between 27th January and 3rd of February.

There are 609 neighbourhoods where coronavirus cases fell in the last seven-day period and 287 where they are still increasing.

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Hospital admissions and daily deaths from the virus have also steadily decreased since the lockdown restrictions were imposed, as you can see from JPI Media data team’s graph.

Although these figures continued to increase after 5 January, before lockdown could have an effect, at the peak on 11 January there were 238 hospital admissions, compared to 81 people admitted to hospital on 31 January.

Similarly, there were 76 daily deaths in Scotland at the peak on 16 January, which has since decreased to 29 on 31 January.

These recent figures suggest that the tight restrictions are indeed working to curb the spread of the virus.

How has the lockdown affected different areas?

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To get a more localised idea of how lockdown has impacted different areas in Scotland, we looked at infection rates in some specific places over the last seven-day period.

Edinburgh has seen rates of positive Covid-19 cases fall by 34 per cent from 84 per 100,000 people to 55 per 100,000 between 27 January and 3rd February.

Glasgow has also seen a decline in positive cases of 25 per cent from 223 per 100,000 to 168.

It is a similar case for Aberdeen, which has seen a large drop in positive cases of 60 per cent, from 118 per 100,000 to 47.

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In Perth and Kinross, there was a 13 per cent decrease in cases, from 101 per 100,000 to 88.

And in the Highland council area, there was a 37 per cent drop, from 76 per 100,000 to 48.

However, not all council areas have experienced a decrease in positive cases in the past seven days.

In Dundee, there was a 6 per cent increase in coronavirus cases, from 109 per 100,000 to 115.

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Meanwhile, in Na h-Eileanan Siar council area in the Outer Hebrides, there was the biggest increase of positive cases in the country - 83 per cent, from 45 per 100,000 to 82.

That is largely down to a significant outbreak which started on the island of Barra.

Which council areas have seen the largest fall in cases?

We can also reveal the top 10 council areas in Scotland that have seen the largest decline in positive cases between 27 January and 3 February:

Shetland 17.5 per 100,000 to 0, a 100 per cent drop
Orkney 36 per 100,000 to 5, a 88 per cent drop
Aberdeen 118 per 100,000 to 47, a 60 per cent drop
Dumfries and Galloway 152 per 100,000 to 91, a 40 per cent drop
Moray 117 per 100,000 to 73, a 38 per cent drop
Highland 76 per 100,000 to 48, a 37 per cent drop
Edinburgh 84 per 100,000 to 55, a 34 per cent drop
Angus 145 per 100,000 to 96, a 34 per cent drop
Scottish Borders 98 per 100,000 to 65, a 34 per cent drop
North Lanarkshire 249 per 100,000 to 166, a 33 per cent drop.
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