Coronavirus in Forth Valley: Huge surge in new cases is biggest rise yet

The number of people in hospital with the infection continues to rise.

Today’s figures show that 71 new cases were detected in Forth Valley this morning – a worrying development as the Falkirk area continues to live under special restrictions set out by the Scottish Government.

The news comes as bosses at NHS Forth Valley have warned the public to remain vigilant as cases continue to rise.

A total of 2248 cases have now been detected in Forth Valley since the start of the outbreak, up from 2177 yesterday.

The number of people in hospital in the area who have tested positive is 25, with 5 of those people currently in intensive care.

A total of 917,750 people in Scotland have now been tested at least once. Of these people, 50,903 have tested positive.

Dr Graham Foster, Director of Public Health, NHS Forth Valley, said: “We are seeing a significant increase in cases of Covid-19 as well as evidence of community and household transmissions across the Forth Valley area.

“It’s therefore really important that everyone continues to be vigilant and we all play our part in helping to stop the spread of this virus.

"Physical distancing, wearing face coverings, reducing the number of people you socialise with and the number of places you visit will reduce the risk and make it easier for our Test and Protect team to identify any close contacts if you do test positive.”