Stirling Politicians Warn of High Covid Rates in Local Area

Published:

Categories: Coronavirus (COVID-19), SNP Scottish Government, Stirling Council

Stirling’s MP Alyn Smith and Stirling Council Leader Scott Farmer have warned that high rates of Covid show there is no room for complacency. 

At the end of last week (12th March), the Stirling local authority area had the highest rate of Covid per 100,000 population in Scotland, at 142. Glasgow was the second highest at 133.

On a community breakdown, Fallin was the highest at 946, Braehead at 805, and Broomridge at 298. However, these numbers will have been impacted by blanket community testing in recent weeks. 

Next month, the Scottish Government hopes to move the country to a local-based Protection Levels system, like that seen in Autumn/Winter last year.

Alyn Smith MP said: 

‘These figures are a sobering reminder that we are not through this yet. There have been some measured relaxation to the rules in place to help people interact safely. However the recently reported case-rate underlines how important it is to only relax these rules with extreme caution.

‘The next few weeks are going to be crucial in ensuring that Stirling doesn’t find itself in a higher Protection Level band. We can only get there if case rates decline substantially and it is safe to do so.

Councillor Scott Farmer said:

‘Community testing and the vaccine rollout have proved to be significant tools in tackling the local spread of the virus. However, local case rates remain stubbornly high compared with elsewhere in the country. 

‘I am seriously concerned about what this means for public health and what it means in terms of our ability to open back up again with a cautious relaxation in the rules. 

‘Ultimately it comes down to this: unless we see a significant decline in case numbers, we will not see a significant easing of restrictions. 

‘I am working closely with colleagues on thew Council, the NHS, and the Scottish Government to ensure that everything that can be done is being done to address this. I ask everyone in the Stirling area to pay extra close attention over the next few weeks to ensure that they are following the rules, keeping themselves and others safe.