Bolton’s spike with 168 cases per 100 000 is being linked to one holidaymaker who did not isolate and who then went on a pub crawl with mates. Though anecdotal this is not implausible given the known highly contagious nature of Covid-19. A similar incident was reported in Ayrshire in late August where one woman did not self-isolate and then attended several house parties in more than one town: https://www.ayradvertiser.com/news/18687868.ayrshire-super-spreader-went-house-parties-coronavirus/ The difference between the two incidents seems likely to be the ability of local contact tracing teams to shut down the infection. Again at the end of August, the Scottish … Continue reading Scotland’s effective contact tracing will close this spike down

The infection rate for Scotland as a whole is high and we must take care but it is mainly due to a spike in the Greater Glasgow area and the adjacent Lanarkshire and, even there, the levels are manageable relative to those in the first twenty or so cases above, all in England and Wales. NHS Borders appears at 35 per 100 000, well down the list, and NHS Lothian at 26 even further down but only the Glasgow area spike is worthy of concern and serious action. Scotland’s proven contact tracers can be expected to clear the Lothian and … Continue reading Follow the rules but don’t panic

From CleanTechnica on 16th: More electric vehicle chargers are rolling out every day in countries around the world, but some places have been rolling out chargers more than others. In the UK, Scotland’s M74 is king of the charging hill. It has the most EV charge points per mile in Great Britain. The M74 goes approximately 40 miles from Glasgow toward the southeast. It has 3 EV charge points on it, with drivers hardly having to go more than 10 miles between stations. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/09/16/scotlands-m74-has-most-charge-points-per-mile-in-uk/ Footnote: The Union flag above as it might look in a parallel universe where Ireland conquers … Continue reading Scotland’s M74 is the most electric car-friendly motorway

Sir Edward Davey arrives in Scotland, clearly inspired by that other aristo, Baroness Ruth Davidson, talking tough. He’s going to encourage Willie and the lads to ‘stick it to‘ the SNP. Not very lady-like. Like Davidson he clearly favours giving his opponents a ‘doing‘ rather than winning their hearts and minds. The SNP will be trembling with fear. No, wait, that’s laughter. The polls tells us who has been ‘stuck.’ The Lib Dems have only crept above 10% in three of the last 40 polls and are well ‘stuck‘ in fourth place: Might he train Willie up to ‘stick it … Continue reading Tough talk from the not-even-ten-percenters

From Legerwood: Scottish patients from hospitals into care homes must have tested negative twice Care homes in England are once more being pressured to take elderly patients from hospital who are Covid-19 positive. This report from Ch4 news on 17th Sept. https://www.channel4.com/news/care-home-provider-under-pressure-to-accept-hospital-patients-with-covid In the report it is stated that the Scottish guidelines for accepting patients from hospitals into care homes are different – patients must have tested negative twice whereas in England they can be transferred even if positive. They, the UK Government and some doctors, have not learned anything. AND NHS trusts in England have to pay for tests … Continue reading English hospitals can discharge covid-positive cases into care homes

At the Scottish Affairs Committee on 17th September, Alister Kerr repeated: They’ve presented the case that they were doing a far better job with the virus. That’s despite much higher care home deaths. They claimed there was a prevalence five times higher in England… He just says what he likes. His research assistants must know these are lies. From research published by the University of Stirling in August: Care homes in England experienced the highest increase in excess deaths at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to those in the rest of the UK, according to new research. A … Continue reading Alister Jack lies about care home deaths again and again and ….

So, English media find things going pretty well in Scotland but, of course, BBC Scotland and their feeders have a different tale to tell: Badly wrong? I think we know who’s badly wrong. Continue reading Covid testing system working well in Scotland

In the wake of the Scotland in Union poll, misinterpreted to suggest Scots don’t care about independence, the Tusker has shown it can do even ‘better.’ Today’s YouGov poll reveals that a whopping 33% of the 139 Scots polled, put the future of the Union in their top 4 priorities, ahead of a range of issues with powerful impacts on their daily lives – housing, education, immigration, poverty, law and order, welfare, the environment, defence, transgender rights or racism. One obvious interpretation of this, of course, is that the SNP Government is making such a good job of dealing with … Continue reading Scots care more about the future of the Union than housing, education, immigration, poverty, law and order, welfare, the environment, defence, transgender rights, racism!

In the Huffington Post only two weeks ago: A whistleblower working at a coronavirus testing centre has described a litany of problems with the supposedly “world beating” system and accused health secretary Matt Hancock of “lying through his teeth”. The worker – who wished to remain anonymous – said the site at which they work is running at a fraction of capacity and has been doing so for at least two weeks in what amounts to a “planned slowdown of testing in all but name”[1]. As the pandemic rises around us once more, what better examples have there been of the need to … Continue reading Why Scotland needs to protect whistle-blowers

Here are the facts: SEVEN CONSECUTIVE polls showing an average lead of 6.3% for Yes, cannot be reversed by a single poll, sponsored by a campaigning group, which does not seem to have asked the key question, for fear that it might reveal an even greater lead. Think of what Boris and his chums or BBC Scotland or Douglas Ross have been up to since the 7th September. Planning to reverse devolution, to stop the pandemic briefings and telling a sequence of outrageous fibs such as the one about what a leader of the fishing industry said. In the same … Continue reading Scotland in Union poll misunderstood by Scotland in Union