63 coronavirus cases now confirmed in Borders as Scottish death toll claimed by disease nears 50

Yesterday’s increase of 15 in the number of cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Borders has been followed today, March 30, by another rise almost as large.
Scotland's chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, at a briefing yesterday in Edinburgh on the current coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/WPA pool/Getty Images)Scotland's chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, at a briefing yesterday in Edinburgh on the current coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/WPA pool/Getty Images)
Scotland's chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, at a briefing yesterday in Edinburgh on the current coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/WPA pool/Getty Images)

The increase of 13 cases announced today, the second biggest daily rise seen here yet, takes the tally of diagnoses of the disease in the region from 50 to 63.

The latest daily update issued by the Scottish Government also reveals that 1,563 cases of the illness, also known as Covid-19, have been confirmed nationwide, up from 1,384 yesterday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Across the UK, 19,522 people have tested positive for the illness, including UK Government prime minister Boris Johnson, health secretary Matt Hancock and chief medical officer Chris Whitty, as well as the Prince of Wales.

That’s up from 17,089 the day before.

The death toll taken by coronavirus in Scotland now stands at 47, up six overnight, and the number of fatalities it has claimed UK-wide is up to 1,228.

Some 14,624 tests for the illness have now been carried out in Scotland, with 13,062 giving negative results.

It’s over two and a half weeks now since the first two cases of the illness were confirmed in the Borders on Wednesday, March 11, and approaching a month since Scotland’s first case was announced on Sunday, March 1, after spreading worldwide from China, with that figure going up to three on the Friday of that week, five on the Saturday, seven the day after, eight the following Thursday, nine on the Friday, 10 on the Saturday, 11 on the Sunday, 12 a week ago, 15 last Wednesday, 23 last Thursday, 28 last Friday, 35 on Saturday and 50 yesterday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Though rising rapidly, the number of cases of Covid-19 in the Borders is still lagging behind those reported in the neighbouring health board areas of Dumfries and Galloway, Lanarkshire and Lothian, up to 74, 197 and 208 respectively.

The 1,500-plus Scots confirmed to have coronavirus are likely to be only a small fraction of the number actually infected, the country’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, believes.

Dr Calderwood told a briefing in Edinburgh today that she reckons the number of people in Scotland infected with the disease to be more than 100,000, and that estimate that only one in 64 cases of coronavirus here has been detected would, if correct, put the likely figure for the Borders at around 4,000 out of a population of about 115,000.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told the same briefing that cancer-screening programmes are to be put on hold to free up time for medics to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She also revealed that the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow is to be turned into a field hospital in case the city’s existing medical facilities run out of beds as the disease spreads.

If needed, it could be up and running within two weeks, providing 300 extra beds initially and potentially 700 more at a later date, according to Ms Sturgeon.