Coronavirus cases in Borders remain at standstill for seventh day running, staying at 325

No new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Borders today, June 4, leaving the total for the region at 325 for the seventh day running.

That’s the longest the region has gone by without seeing a rise in cases since the first diagnoses here were confirmed on Wednesday, March 11.

It surpasses a five-day run without new reports of coronavirus ended by an increase of one last Tuesday, May 26.

The 325 cases of Covid-19, as the disease is also known, confirmed here are among 15,553 nationwide, up 49 from 15,504 yesterday.

Across the UK, 279,856 people have tested positive for the disease, up 1,871 on the day before.

The number of cases of Covid-19 in the Borders remains higher than in one of its neighbouring health board areas, Dumfries and Galloway’s total being 261, but is still well below the two others, Lanarkshire and Lothian being up to 2,002 and 2,752 respectively.

The death toll claimed in the region by coronavirus stands at 38 as of Tuesday, up three on last week.

Figures issued by the National Records of Scotland yesterday, taking into account all fatalities attributed to coronavirus and not just among those previously tested and found to be infected, put the death toll for the region at 62 as of Sunday, however – 27 higher than the Scottish Government figure of 35 at that time.

It’s now over two months since the first five fatalities among Covid-19 patients here were announced on Monday, March 30.

That figure, going by Scottish Government calculations, rose to seven the day after, March 31; eight on Wednesday, April 1; 11 on Thursday, April 2; 14 on Friday, April 3; 16 on Sunday, April 5; 17 on Monday, April 6; 19 on Tuesday, April 7; 20 on Friday, April 10; 22 on Saturday, April 11; 23 on Sunday, April 12; 26 on Monday, April 13; 27 on Thursday, April 23; 28 on Friday, April 24; 29 on Monday, April 27; 30 on Wednesday, April 29; 31 on Thursday, April 30; 32 on Tuesday, May 12; 34 on Tuesday, May 19; 35 on Tuesday, May 26; and 38 yesterday.

They are among 2,395 coronavirus patients killed by the disease in Scotland so far, up nine from 2,386 overnight, and 39,728 UK-wide, a rise of 359 on the day before.

Altogether, 18 Scots are in intensive care receiving treatment for coronavirus, along with another 10 suspected to be infected but awaiting test results.

More than 120,600 tests for the illness have been carried out in Scotland so far, with 105,048 coming back negative.

Giving an update in Edinburgh today on the outbreak, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “There have been 15,553 positive cases confirmed. That is an increase of 49 from yesterday.

“A total of 1,021 patients are currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That represents a total decrease of 96 from yesterday, including a decrease of 21 in the number of confirmed cases.

“A total of 28 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid 19. That is a decrease of six since yesterday.

“Since March 5, a total of 3,758 patients who had tested positive and required hospital treatment for the virus have been able to leave hospital.

“And in the last 24 hours, nine deaths have been registered of patients confirmed through a test as having the virus. That takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,395.

“We should not read too much into any one day’s figures, and tomorrow’s figure or the next day’s figure may be higher than the one I have just given you, but I think it is still worth noting that yesterday was the first weekday since March 27 when the number of deaths registered under our daily measure was in single figures.

“I think that demonstrates the progress we are making against this virus, but it also underlines why we all continue to need to comply with the public health guidance, so that we can continue to make this progress and don’t allow it to go into reverse.

“Of course, nine deaths is still too many, and thinking of those nine lives lost reinforces the point I make every day that these figures are not just statistics. They represent people – unique and irreplaceable individuals whose loss will have left families shattered and grieving, so I want to send my condolences once again to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus.”

Warning of tough times ahead for the Scottish economy, Ms Sturgeon added: “Alongside a public health emergency, we are also now dealing with an economic emergency on a scale none of us have experienced, and that requires – and it will get – the attention and focus of the Scottish Government, just as the health emergency has and continues to get.

“We have already allocated more than £2.3bn to help businesses in Scotland through measures such as grants and business rates relief. That is in addition to welcome UK Government measures such as the furlough scheme.

“Mitigating and addressing the economic costs of Covid is going to become an even greater priority in the weeks and months ahead, but alongside that, and as part of our response, we also want to help businesses, where possible, to adapt and find new markets.

“One of the areas where we have been doing that already is in relation to personal protective equipment in Scotland.

“Prior to Covid-19, National Services Scotland would provide around 57,000 of those masks to our health and care sector each week.

“Now, instead of needing 57,000 masks a week, we need 4.5m. That is an 80-fold increase.

“To meet that demand, we are importing equipment from overseas – 100m fluid-resistant masks have been imported from China and a further 60m are on order – but we are also working with suppliers in Scotland to establish domestic supply chains.

“We will always, when necessary, place major orders with overseas suppliers. However, we are also increasingly taking advantage of the expertise of manufacturers here.

“Doing that gives us greater reassurance that supplies will be secure in the long term, and it also creates real benefits in terms of jobs and exports.

“Those benefits don’t, of course, come close to balancing the wider economic harms caused by this pandemic, so the Scottish Government will continue to work with business and the UK Government to address those, but these benefits are welcome none the less and they are a testament to the ongoing importance and excellence of our manufacturing sector here in Scotland.”