Two more coronavirus cases confirmed in Borders, taking total to 283

They’re among 11,927 cases of the illness diagnosed nationwide, up 273 from 11,654 yesterday.

Across the UK, 177,454 people have tested positive for coronavirus, up 6,201 on the day before.

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

That figure rose 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 on Wednesday, March 25; 23 on Thursday, March 26; 28 on Friday, March 27; 35 on Saturday, March 28; 50 on Sunday, March 29; 63 on Monday, March 30; 77 on Tuesday, March 31; 87 on Wednesday, April 1; 93 on Thursday, April 2; 100 on Friday, April 3; 110 on Saturday, April 4; 130 on Sunday, April 5; 139 last Monday, April 6; 149 on Tuesday, April 7; 160 on Wednesday, April 8; 167 on Thursday, April 9; 177 on Friday, April 10; 189 on Saturday, April 11; 199 on Sunday, April 12; 204 on Monday, April 13; 208 on Tuesday, April 14; 215 on Wednesday, April 15; 220 on Thursday, April 16; 229 on Friday, April 17; 231 on Saturday, April 18; 237 on Sunday, April 19; 239 on Monday, April 20; 240 on Tuesday, April 21; 243 on Wednesday, April 22; 248 on Thursday, April 23; 253 last Friday, April 24; 258 on Saturday; 259 on Sunday; 269 on Monday; 272 on Tuesday; 279 on Wednesday; 281 yesterday; and 283 today.

As of yesterday, the latest figure available from NHS Borders, there’d been no increase overnight in the number of deaths claimed by the disease in the region, and it remained at 31.

It’s now been a month since the first five fatalities here attributable to the virus, also known as Covid-19 were announced on Monday, March 30.

That figure 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 last Thursday, April 23; 28 last Friday; 29 on Monday; 30 on Wednesday; and 31 on Thursday.

They are among 1,559 coronavirus patients killed by the disease in Scotland so far, up 44 from 1,515 overnight, and 27,510 UK-wide, a rise of 739 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 250, but is still well below the two others, Lanarkshire and Lothian being up to 1,436 and 2,065 respectively.

Altogether, 108 Scots are in intensive care receiving treatment for coronavirus, with 97 having tested positive and the others awaiting results.

Some 58,833 tests for the illness have been carried out in Scotland so far, with 46,906 returning negative results.

Scottish Government deputy first minister John Swinney has warned that the coronavirus infection rate in Scotland needs to be much lower than it is at the moment for schools to reopen.

Mr Swinney, also education secretary, yesterday told STV’s Scotland Tonight programme: “There’s going to be very careful management of this issue across the whole of government.

“I can’t just sit down one day and say the schools are going back. I have to be absolutely mindful of the sciences involved.

“Your viewers will have probably heard the first minister talking about the reproduction number of coronavirus.

“We need to get that substantially lower than it is today before we can even contemplate bringing any pupils to our schools because obviously if we do that it affects parents going back to their works.

“It’s a really careful balance to be struck because what we don’t want to do is to undermine the really good work that’s been done by a commitment of members of the public to reduce the incidence of coronavirus in our society.

“We have to reflect those in our decisions about Scottish education just as much as they have to be reflected in the business communities as well.

“We’ve made no definitive plans when schools will recommence, and we’ve made no changes to the arrangements for the forthcoming period.

“What I can say definitively is that I cannot see a situation where all pupils in all schools will come back in one go.

“I just can’t see that happening, for all the reasons of social distancing and the gathering together of many pupils in one individual school.

“We couldn’t have 2,000 pupils coming back together again in some of our secondary schools in Scotland, so there’ll have to be a phased return for different groups within individual schools.”