Coronavirus / Five more Covid cases recorded in last two days
FIVE more confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Shetland in the past 48 hours, according to the local health board.
This brings the number of cases linked to the current north mainland cluster to 89, and the overall total of cases recorded for Shetland since the start of the pandemic to 163.
According to Scottish Government figures during the seven days from 29 December 2020 to 4 January 2021, Shetland recorded 53 new cases, which translates into a seven-day positive rate per 100,000-population of 231.2 cases, a similar infection rate recorded in some central belt areas.
Shetland continues to be under level three Covid-19 restrictions, while mainland Scotland has been put in to another lockdown.
NHS Shetland said the latest cases are “still mostly linked with the North Mainland outbreak”.
Consultant in public health Dr Susan Laidlaw said that while the outbreak appears contained, there may still be people in the community who were infectious without knowing it.
She said it was imperative that everyone remained “extremely cautious” and maintained physical distancing and followed FACTS guidance, even if they had been vaccinated.
“The rollout of vaccinations is a priority and, as well as delivering the first phase to protect the most vulnerable people in Shetland, we are also working on the logistics of how it will work going forward once we have a larger supply of vaccine,” she said.
Meanwhile, responding to a query from Shetland News, the health board said that based on the information available so far it does not look as though the current cluster has been caused by the new Covid variant.
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