Hospital ward forced to close due to coronavirus oubreak

A ward has been forced to close at Forth Valley Royal Hospital following an outbreak of coronavirus.

NHS Forth Valley says no new admissions are being allowed into the affected ward at the Larbert hospital.

Visiting has also been suspended as a precautionary measure while investigations continue into the outbreak, which involves “a small number of cases of Covid-19 identified through Test and Protect”.

A spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “Staff, patients and their families have been informed of the development and close contacts are being followed up by our Test and Protect Team.

“NHS Forth Valley is taking every measure to protect staff and patients and in line with national guidance, have notified Health Protection Scotland.”

The development comes after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon signalled “hard but necessary decisions” will likely have to be made in the coming days to head off surging cases of coronavirus.

She said on Friday the country is at a “critical moment”, as 203 new cases were recorded in Scotland overnight, the fourth day in a row of more than 200 cases.

Sturgeon urged the public this weekend to “rigorously” follow all the public health rules and advice, warning that Scotland is “facing the risk again of exponential growth in Covid” and that the situation is “deteriorating”.