Coronavirus in Scotland RECAP: 17 more deaths from Covid-19 and increase in hospital cases

Five hospitality bodies in Scotland have threatened legal action against the Scottish government.

The Scottish Beer and Pub Association, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, UK Hospitality (Scotland), the Scottish Hospitality Group and the Night Time Industries Association Scotland notified the Scottish government on Wednesday.

Following an opinion from Aidan O’Neill QC saying that a judicial review of the restrictions imposed on the industry by the Scottish government would be warranted, the group decided to take action.

A deadline has been set at 4pm Wednesday for a response from the Scottish government, and a request for judicial review will be submitted if none is submitted.

Michael Sheen and David Tennant will reprise their roles as themselves for a new virtual lockdown comedy series Staged.

The new episodes will see the couple try to adjust to their “new normal” at home as they navigate virtual Hollywood.

Also returning for the new series are Georgia Tennant, Anna Lundberg and Lucy Eaton, as well as Nina Sosanya and Simon Evans.

Ben Schwartz will join the cast of season two, playing Sheen and Tennant’s assistant to the American agent.

The Covid-19 outbreaks at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee have led to the closure of three coronavirus-free wards for visitors and new admissions.

NHS Tayside said it is investigating a “small number” of cases in wards two, three and 19.

The health board said that tests have been offered to patients in the wards and to the corresponding staff.

A spokesperson said: “The rooms are not accepting new admissions and visits have been temporarily suspended.

“All appropriate infection prevention and control measures have been implemented and Public Health Scotland has been informed.

“The public should be assured that NHS Tayside has separate pathways of care for patients presenting with Covid-19 symptoms, for urgent presentations, and for patients attending planned procedures or treatments. These pathways are supported by Covid-19 testing. “

He added that the board of health tests asymptomatic workers in accordance with government guidelines and provides appropriate personal protective equipment for personnel working in areas with confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients.

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One in six children now suffers from a mental health disorder, according to a new report from the NHS, which highlights how confinement has worsened conditions such as depression and anxiety.

The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England study found increasing rates of boys and girls experiencing mental health problems, including trouble sleeping and anxiety from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study, published by NHS Digital, is based on interviews with 3,570 children and youth face-to-face in 2017 and was followed online in July 2020, when they were between the ages of five and 22.

It found that rates of probable mental disorder have risen in the past three years, with one in six (16%) children aged five to 16 with a probable mental disorder in 2020, up from one in nine (11%) in 2017.

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A founding member of the Squeeze band is calling for clocks not to go back this weekend as the UK faces the double bind of increasing coronavirus restrictions and shrinking days.

Chris Difford said that the new normal scares a lot of people and that natural light is “one of the best tonics for mental health.”

Clocks are due to turn back one hour on October 25 at 2am, which will end British Daylight Saving Time (BST) and return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

This will mean lighter mornings but an earlier sunset, with darkness falling around 4pm in December.

The 66-year-old musician has created a petition on Change.org asking that this not happen while the country grapples with the virus and people “stand up.”

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The R number in Scotland, the average number of people each person with Covid-19 gets to infect with the virus, is “maybe as high” as 1.5, Nicola Sturgeon said.

The Prime Minister said that this, along with the latest daily statistics, showed why the temporary restrictions in the hospitality sector had been extended for another week.

Speaking about the Scottish government’s strategic framework for tackling Covid-19, to be released on Friday, Sturgeon said this would outline a new testing strategy, as well as a new tiered regional approach to tackling the virus.

Scotland already has a goal of increasing testing capacity to 65,000 per day by the end of this year.

Sturgeon said that in order to get at least 10,000 more Scottish tests analyzed by the UK government’s Lighthouse laboratories, the capacity of the NHS laboratory will increase by an additional 22,000 tests per day.

To accomplish this, Nicola Sturgeon said that three new regional centers were being established in Grampian, Lothian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Sturgeon said: “Contractors are already doing construction work for these centers, equipment installation is progressing well, and so is hiring.

“We hope they will be up and running in the next few weeks.”

He said the new centers would perform all the routine tests for nursing homes and that would help get the results “more quickly than we sometimes do now.”