Covid death included in new statistics

THE DEATH of a person in Shetland who had Covid mentioned on their death certificate was registered last week, according to National Records of Scotland data.

It is the eighth time this has been recorded in Shetland so far this year. In comparison there were five instances in the whole of 2021.

Meanwhile the Office of National Statistics estimates that one in 20 people in Scotland had Covid last week.

Anecdotally there appears to be high levels of Covid circulating in the Shetland community, but with no guidance for the general public to test, it is not reflected in official figures.

At the moment only certain people, like those working in health and social care and people visiting hospitals, are advised to test.

However with some folk having stockpiles of leftover lateral flows and test kits available for sale too, many are still choosing to test.

Staff absences are continuing to affect public services – such as inter-island ferries – and businesses.

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A meeting of Shetland’s external transport forum also heard on Tuesday that NorthLink Ferries has had more than 30 Covid absences so far in June.

People are still recommended to wear face coverings in crowded places and on public transport.

The general guidance is for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, or those who have a fever and do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, to stay at home until they get better.

For those who do test positive, the guidance is now to stay at home for five days. For children it is three days.