Nicola Sturgeon: Leicester-style local lockdowns ‘cannot be ruled out’

Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland, (right on the Scotland/England border), has been hit by a cluster of new coronavirus cases

Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister for Scotland), has today said that: ‘Leicester style lockdowns’ can’t be ruled out as there have been increases in the cases of coronavirus in the area.

Nine new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the Gretna and Annan areas in the Scottish borders since Monday.

The ‘test and protect’ programme is in place and should keep the flare ups under control but the country has to be aware that if there are local areas which are bucking the trend that Scotland has been lucky enough to have, with the numbers consistently falling for infections and deaths, then localised lockdowns may have to be imposed.

The outbreak covers both the North West of England and Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch has said.

“A number of cases have been identified around Gretna and Annan,” Prof Leitch told today’s daily Coronavirus briefing.

“This is a complex but small cluster captured in different testing areas in a hospital testing site, in a mobile testing unit and in a drive-through testing unit.”

Prof Leitch said that the Scotland’s “test and protect” contact tracing programme has been “fully initiated” to deal with the cases in Dumfries and Galloway.

“Contacts are being traced and provided with the appropriate public health advice,” he added.

The contact tracing measures which have been in put in place “should contain the cluster,” he added.

Ms Sturgeon said that the prospect of further action to contain the situation is under “ongoing discussion.”

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Mark T Connor

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