Glasgow and Lanarkshire worst Covid hotspots in Europe

Glasgow and Lanarkshire are the two worse hit corona hotspots in Europe, according to the World Health Organisation.

The rate of Covid-19 cases per person in the two Scottish regions are significantly higher than elsewhere in the country, the United Kingdom and the continent.

Lanarkshire’s seven-day rate of cases per 100,000 people was more than 1111, with Glasgow’s higher than 1014.

The regions with the next worst levels of Covid-19 are Kosovo and Israel with rates of 734 and 718 respectively.

The First Minister is due to give an update on the pandemic at Holyrood on Wednesday afternoon.

More than 12,000 positive results have been recorded in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in the latest seven-day statistics., with 7357 recorded in NHS Lanarkshire.

Both health board’s have said they are under significant strain, urging people not to come to accident and emergency departments unless their condition is life-threatening and restricting visiting to hospitals.

In a post online on Monday, Glasgow’s health board said that its emergency departments are “extremely busy”.

The majority of non-urgent elective procedures have been postponed by NHS Lanarkshire to free up staff and beds for urgent care.

If the increase in Scotland’s Covid case numbers continues the country could see 14,000 infections a day as university and college students return for their studies, a public health expert has warned.

Nicola Sturgeon said there is “significant pressure” on Scotland’s NHS after the country’s daily coronavirus case numbers reached another record high.

She told STV News: “It’s the overall level of cases that make me concerned right now.

“We are seeing a smaller proportion of people who get Covid ending up in hospital, but when there’s a big number of people with Covid, even a smaller percentage going to hospital will still put pressure on the health service and there is significant pressure on the health service right now.”

Scottish Government statistics updated on Tuesday showed a further seven deaths and 6029 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded.

In a note, the Scottish Government said it was continuing to see a “larger proportion of specimens reported that were processed more than 48 hours ago”.