Nine new COVID-19 cases, and ‘more are likely’, says NHSO
Orkney has recorded nine more individuals with COVID-19 today, Thursday, NHS Orkney has confirmed.
A spokeswoman for NHS Orkney has also said that more COVID-19 cases “are likely in coming days.”
Of these nine new cases today, two are Orkney registered but currently on mainland Scotland, and the rest are physically here in the county.
NHS Orkney’s director of public health Dr Louise Wilson said links between these cases were difficult to determine, but indicated the virus was circulating in the community.
She said: “With travel opening up people are moving back and forth to the mainland all the time and it is inevitable that someone will unwittingly pick up the virus and bring it back.
“What we are asking people to do is take a Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test three days before they return, log the result, and then do one again on the day of scheduled travel.
“If your LFD test is positive, don’t travel and expose others to the virus. Book a PCR test to confirm the results and stay where you are and isolate.
“It could be that someone with underlying health conditions becomes seriously ill if you pass the virus on.”
LFD tests can be ordered online and usually arrive by post within two days. See the link: https://www.nhsinform.scot/…/coronavirus-covid-19-get-a….
In Orkney LFD tests can also be picked up from WHB Sutherland in Kirkwall and Stromness and Boots The Chemists in Kirkwall. Take a look: https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/findatestcenter.html….
To book a PCR test contact the Covid Assessment Centre on 01856 888 211.