Nicola Sturgeon LIVE: First Minister to updates public on latest coronavirus figures | lowest test positivity rate since mid-June in Scotland | 'Anti-vaxxers are guilty of anti-social behaviour', says FM
and live on Freeview channel 276
Follow The Scotsman’s live blog here for updates on the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 briefing, held by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and national clinical director Jason Leitch on Tuesday, July 27.
Scottish Government Covid-19 briefing LIVE
Key Events
- Scotland records lowest case positivity rate since mid June
- ‘Anti-vaxxers spreading misinformation are anti-social’, according to FM
- Prof Leitch: cases in Scotland “dramatically falling”
- Yousaf insists self-isolation exemptions are not compulsory
- ‘Reckless’ to let Covid-19 spread through young people, says FM adviser
‘We are in a much better place since the start of this month’, says First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon’s comment comes as she says that high case numbers have not resulted in the same number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
First Minister reveals test positivity is lowest it’s been since mid- June
1,044 covid cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Scotland in the past 24 hours.
The test positivity rate is 5.6% - the lowest it has been since June 19.
Covid briefing in Scotland due in five minutes
Follow The Scotsman’s live blog and tune into the Scottish Government’s live feed on Twitter.
‘Indicator of progress’ as Scotland not included in UK top ten covid hotspots, says health secretary
Scotland’s health secretary Humza Yousaf has said Scotland’s progress out of the top ten covid hotspots is ‘another indicator of progress in our continued battle against the virus.’
At the start of July, five out of ten covid hotspots in the UK were in Scotland, however, now no Scottish local authorities are in the top 150.
However, Mr Yousaf added: “No room for complacency.
“Keep up hygiene measures, regular testing and get vaccinated.”
”
People told to shield eight times more likely to get Covid, a new study suggests
People advised to shield during the first wave of the pandemic were eight times more likely to get Covid-19 and five times as likely to die following infection than the general population, a study led by the University of Glasgow has indicated.
Researchers also said people considered at moderate risk from the virus due to health conditions like diabetes were four times more likely to have confirmed infections than the low-risk group, and five times more likely to die following confirmed infection.
The study published in the journal Scientific Reports also showed that people aged 70 and over accounted for almost half (49.55%) of deaths in a Scottish health board.
The study looked at data from more than 1.3 million patients registered with GP practices in NHSGGC, of which 27,747 had been advised to shield, with a further 353,085 classed as medium risk due to health conditions.
Nicola Sturgeon today: what time is FM making update on Scotland lockdown - and how can I watch announcement?
Here is when and how you can watch the First Minister’s latest covid update today.
Here's when Nicola Sturgeon is giving her next update on coronavirus in Scotland
The First Minister is set to give her next Covid update this afternoon.
Sturgeon to hold Covid briefing this afternoon
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is set to hold a Covid-19 briefing this afternoon alongside national clinical director Jason Leitch.
Prof Leitch says cases in Scotland “dramatically falling"
National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government, Professor Jason Leitch, has described how the country’s case rate is “dramatically falling”.
“We had five out of the top 10 local authorities in the UK, now we have none in the top 150,” Prof Leitch told the BBC’s Today programme.
“We’ve now seen hospitalisations fall. Around 3% of positive people get admitted to hospital but they are now younger, relatively healthy and discharged quicker. But some stay, and we’ve had many deaths over the last few days.”
He said the participation of fans in Euro 2020 had caused a spike in cases, but said it was “important to keep the football in perspective”.
“The Scotland-England game gave us a spike because of travel, not necessarily Wembley. Unfortunately, from a sporting perspective, Scotland went out far too early. But epidemiologically speaking, that probably did us some favours,” he said.
“We tested a lot of these fans and for a short time (cases) went from 1:1 male-female to 9:1 male-female. It has now returned to 1:1.”
‘Reckless’ to let Covid-19 spread through young people, says FM’s adviser
One of Nicola Sturgeon’s top advisers on Covid-19 has branded the decision to not vaccinate all young people aged between 12 and 17 “reckless”.
Writing for The Guardian, Professor Devi Sridhar criticised the position in the UK of letting “teenagers get on with it and see what happens once they’re infected”.
Criticising the approach in England, where all major legal Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, the chair of global public health and Edinburgh University said such a move would result in an “uncontrolled epidemic” among younger age groups.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation announced last week it was approving the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine to teenagers with underlying conditions, but fell short of recommending a blanket rollout.
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Gregor Smith responded by writing to the group to ask the decision was kept under “close and ongoing review”.
Read the full story here:
‘Reckless’ to let Covid-19 spread through young people, says Scottish Government adviser
One of Nicola Sturgeon’s top advisers on Covid-19 has branded the decision to not vaccinate all young people aged between 12 and 17 “reckless”.