Covid “has not gone away”
Inverclyde Council Leader is calling on residents to continue to stick to the coronavirus guidance after it was announced that there have been two more covid-related deaths in the area in the past week.
Councillor Stephen McCabe said: “With so many parts of the country starting to ease out of the lockdown it is truly heart breaking to learn of a further two deaths in our area with eight in total across Scotland.
“Any increase in deaths to this awful virus is a tragedy for the families and friends of those involved and for our community.
“The national changes to put Spain back onto the travel restrictions this week and the local outbreaks happening across the country all show that this virus has not gone away.
“In Inverclyde we have, as a community, been affected by this to a greater extent than anywhere else in Scotland. The information published today by the National Records of Scotland is a stark reminder that we are still vulnerable to this.
“While it is a relief to so many that some of the lockdown restrictions are being eased or removed, we must not take our eye off the ball and remember that the health and social and physical distancing advice needs to be followed.
“Please stay safe and protect yourself and others,” he added.
Inverclyde area has, throughout the covid-19 pandemic, had the highest rate of covid deaths in Scotland. From the latest release of statistics from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) Inverclyde has had 118 covid-related deaths to date, a rate of 15 per 10,000 people. Until this week, Inverclyde had not registered a covid-related death in the previous three weeks.
A reported commissioned through NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board concluded that the area had suffered an early outbreak of covid-19 but was inconclusive about the reason.
After the council contacted the cabinet secretary for health seeking further investigation into the reasons, public health Scotland has been asked to examine in detail the situation.