NHS Lanarkshire is urging the public to protect themselves and their health service by taking steps to reduce their risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 as cases across the country and particularly in Lanarkshire continue to rise at a significant rate.

A degree of normality has returned across the country but it’s vital people are aware that coronavirus cases are increasing and the pressures on all our health services across Lanarkshire are at unprecedented levels and have been for a number of weeks.

Dr John Logan, NHS Lanarkshire’s acting director of public health, said: “We are urging the public to protect themselves, their family, their community, their health service and those who are vulnerable by keeping the number of infections down.

“We strongly encourage people who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated and for everyone to do a Covid test twice per week, especially before going to work, attending events, meeting people or visiting the vulnerable.

“The more the virus spreads undetected, the greater the number of cases of infection and the greater the chance new variants can take hold. By having regular tests and taking up the vaccine offer, we keep infections down.

“We are now beginning to see extremely high Covid-19 case numbers across Lanarkshire. The number of positive tests across Scotland has doubled in the last week with number of cases reported for Lanarkshire today being 1269.

“While the majority of the adult population has received two doses of the vaccine, we are extremely concerned as we are beginning to see higher numbers of Covid patients in our hospitals which are already struggling to cope with demand on staff and services.”

Earlier this week NHS Lanarkshire took the decision to temporarily postpone the majority of non-urgent planned care procedures for two weeks to free up staff and beds for urgent care as staff struggle to cope with the relentless pressures.

Dr Logan added: “Numbers in our hospitals have almost doubled in the last 10 days from 39 Covid patients across our three hospitals to 70 patients today.

“If you have had the vaccine or a negative test result, it is still important to remember the basics – keep your distance, wear a face covering and clean your hands. Limit the number of contacts you have, especially with people who have not been vaccinated. If you are planning to meet others, please meet outside whenever possible.

“We are particularly concerned about vulnerable people, especially those who haven’t had two doses of the vaccine, who are more likely to develop severe disease and need admission to intensive care.”

This includes the following:

• People who have been on the shielding list or who are pregnant.
• People who have one or more long-term health conditions such as respiratory, heart, liver, kidney or neurological disease or conditions such as cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other conditions which result in reduced immunity.
• People with one or more of the above conditions who live in households with others who have not been vaccinated or who tend to socialise with others who have not been vaccinated.

Information for all Covid-19 vaccination drop-in clinics is published on our website at www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/covid-19-vaccine/#clinics This webpage is updated regularly.

Visit NHS Inform for details on regular testing.

The people of Lanarkshire can play their part by ensuring they access the right help at the right time. There are lots of qualified experts in the community who can safely advise people on many health conditions.

NHS Lanarkshire’s Ask the expert guide offers a range of services that local healthcare professionals across Lanarkshire can provide. You can go directly to the right healthcare professional for the help you need when you need it, without having to see your GP first or face a lengthy wait in A&E.

NHS Inform website provides advice on self-care, NHS 24 can provide urgent health advice out of hours and your local pharmacy is the first port of call for minor ailments. This can also help free up appointments for those who need them.

The Scottish Government are also asking people who test positive for coronavirus to securely list details of their close contacts when asked by Test and Protect. See the contact tracing explainer video on NHS Inform.