Search under way for site for coronavirus care centre in Borders

Two more cases of the virus in Scotland were confirmed yesterday, taking the number of people known to be infected this side of the border to three.

The two new cases were reported in Ayrshire and Grampian, following the first positive diagnosis in Tayside.

Though no cases of Covid-19, as the virus is known, have been diagnosed in the region, bosses at NHS Borders are making preparations and looking at potential locations to provide care for potential patients with the virus.

They have dismissed reports that ward 16 at the Borders General Hospital at Melrose, its old gynaecology ward, is their preferred location, however.

A spokesperson for NHS Borders said: “As part of our planning and preparedness for Covid-19, we are reviewing potential locations for patients to be cared for should in-patient provision for confirmed cases in the Borders be required.

“Ward 16 is not one of the options currently being considered.”

The Scottish Government has now set out a strategy to cope with coronavirus as part of a four-nations action plan.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon said well-established plans were being activated to tackle what she describes as a “serious situation”.

She urged the public to adhere to heed health advice but not to panic as the number of cases rises, saying: “I know people are hearing scary figures, and it is important to stress that they are worst-case scenarios.”

The UK Government has warned that up to a fifth of the national workforce end up being off sick at the same time because of the epidemic, first reported in China.

The number of cases across the UK currently stands at 85, up from 39 on Monday. A total of 914 tests have been confirmed negative in Scotland.

Updates on public health advice regarding coronavirus can be found at www.nhsinform.scot