71 new coronavirus cases in Scotland but no local lockdown as Coupar Angus cluster grows

Scotland has recorded its second highest number of coronavirus cases since May, Nicola Sturgeon revealed, as she gave an update on several clusters of the virus.

Speaking during the Scottish Government's daily briefing, she said 71 positive tests had been recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 19,605.

This is the second highest daily total of new cases since May 23, after the 77 recorded yesterday.

A total of 10 of these new cases are in the Grampian health board area, 16 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, four in Lanarkshire and 31 in Tayside.

She said 68 cases have been identified in a cluster in Coupar Angus linked to the 2 Sisters poultry factory - 59 employees of the plant and nine of their contacts.

Two of the contacts also have a link to two other factories in the Tayside area.

NHS Tayside announced on Thursday that anyone living in a household with a factory worker from the 2 Sisters site should self isolate at home.

This includes children, Ms Sturgeon said.

She added that there are only a small number of Covid-19 cases in the wider Tayside area.

The local incident management team believe there is "minimal evidence'' of community transmission in the area, she said, meaning that restrictions similar to those imposed on Aberdeen after a cluster emerged there are not currently necessary.

The First Minister said: "Some people may be looking at Aberdeen and Coupar Angus and wondering why exactly the same approach is not being taken.

"The key point I'm making is the nature of the steps that we take in different outbreaks has to depend on and be guided by the nature of the outbreak.''

The First Minister also addressed the outbreak in Aberdeen, which she said was "improving''.

She announced that a further 10 cases have been identified in the NHS Grampian area in the past 24 hours, with a total of 237 cases associated with the outbreak in Aberdeen.

Ms Sturgeon said she hoped there would be a "firm timetable'' put in place for easing restrictions on the north-east city when a review is undertaken on Sunday.

She added: "I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone in the city of Aberdeen for complying so well with these restrictions.

I know how difficult it will have been.

We all hope and are optimistic that Aberdeen will be on the road back - if not to complete normality then at least as much normality as the rest of the country very soon.''

Speaking about lessons learned from the clusters, Ms Sturgeon said indoor social gatherings are one of the major drivers of community transmission of coronavirus.

She warned against defying guidelines for the number of people allowed indoors at once, which she said presented a very significant risk''.

She said: That tells us that we need to be incredibly cautious about these kinds of gatherings.

I want to ask everybody again today to remember the advice that is in place and to comply with it.''

The First Minster also addressed changes to travel restrictions

She said there had been a significant rise'' in the number of coronavirus cases in the four countries - Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago - that have been added to the quarantine list.

She said: These changes are a further reminder of how quickly the international situation can and is changing at the moment.''

She warned that caution should be taken when considering booking a holiday abroad, as the rules may change at short notice.

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