Covid-19 cases in Borders up 20 overnight to 130

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Borders have gone up by almost a fifth since yesterday, April 4.
UK Government health secretary Matt Hancock in London on Friday. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images)UK Government health secretary Matt Hancock in London on Friday. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images)
UK Government health secretary Matt Hancock in London on Friday. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images)

A daily update issued by the Scottish Government on the spread of coronavirus through the country reveals a rise of 20 cases today, April 5, taking the total for the region to 130.

The death toll claimed by the illness in the region stands at 14, as of Friday, that being the latest figure available.

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The first five fatalities claimed here by Covid-19 were announced on Monday, and that figure rose to seven on Tuesday, eight on Wednesday, 11 on Thursday and 14 on Friday.

They’re among a death toll of 220 nationwide, up from 218 yesterday, and 4,932 across the UK, up from 4,313.

Some 3,706 cases of the illness have been confirmed nationwide, up from 3,345.

UK-wide, 47,806 people have tested positive for the illness, up from 41,903 the day before.

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Some 23,143 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in Scotland, with 19,437 proving negative.

It’s over three weeks now since the first two cases of the illness were confirmed in the Borders on Wednesday, March 11, and over a month since Scotland’s first case, in Tayside, was announced on Sunday, March 1, after spreading across the world from China.

That figure went up to three on Friday, March 13; five on Saturday, March 14; seven on Sunday, March 15; eight the following Thursday, March 19; nine on Friday, March 20; 10 on Saturday, March 21; 11 on Sunday, March 22; 12 on Monday, March 23; 15 last Wednesday; 23 last Thursday; 28 last Friday; 35 on Saturday; 50 on Sunday; 63 on Monday; 77 on Tuesday; 87 on Wednesday; 93 yesterday; 100 on Friday; 110 yesterday; and 130 today.

Though rising rapidly, the number of cases of Covid-19 in the Borders is still lower than those reported in the neighbouring health board areas of Dumfries and Galloway, Lanarkshire and Lothian, up to 141, 478 and 534 respectively.

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Outdoor exercise could be banned if people continue to flout lockdown rules, UK Government health secretary Matt Hancock, himself a coronavirus sufferer, warned today.

In a BBC interview today, he said: “We’ve said it’s OK to go for exercise because both the physical and mental health benefits of getting some exercise are really important.

“I don’t want to have to take away exercise as a reason to leave home if too many people are not following the rules.

“At the moment the vast majority of people are, but people should not break the rules because that will mean that the virus spreads more and then we might have to take further action.”

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The 3,700-plus Scots confirmed to have coronavirus are likely to be only the tip of the iceberg, though, according to the country’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood.

She estimates that only around one in 64 cases of Covid-19 has been detected this side of the border, and that guess, if correct, would put the likely figure for the region at more than 8,300 out of a population of 115,000 or thereabouts.