Scotland’s top alternative night out, Fore Play Crazy Golf, has announced the launch of their new pop-up venue in Edinburgh city centre.
Set to open next month, Scotland’s favourite adult-only crazy golf haven’t let COVID deter their plans, and they’re bringing their love of crazy golf, great nights out and Edinburgh to the city in a complete transformation of the former Steak restaurant, located at Picardy Place.
The bold new move comes after the team had to close their first ever popup at the Biscuit Factory after only two weeks of trading earlier this year in March.
The new Fore Play Crazy Golf venue promises to be bigger and better than before, with thrill-seekers set to enjoy two floors jam-packed with fun, games and Instagrammable features. The new space boasts 9,000 sq ft and can seat up to 126 socially distanced guests throughout the venue.
Taking centre-stage the Edinburgh course features famous Auld Reekie landmarks paying tribute to some of the city centre’s most instagrammable spots including Greyfriars Bobby statue and the Scott Monument.
With a unique blend of crazy golf, mouth watering street food and cocktails made with local suppliers like Pickering’s Gin and Edinburgh Beer Factory, Fore Play Crazy Golf promises an experience which is un-fore-gettable in every way.
New venue features include a bar on each floor, as well as a heated outdoor beer garden which can seat up to 40 people, allowing players to enjoy table service throughout the venue.
Meanwhile Edinburgh’s street food superstars, The Pitt are on hand to feed hungry putters with a new food menu that boasts plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
Craig Neilson, Chief Greenkeeper at Fore Play Crazy Golfsaid: “COVID might have ruined our plans the first time round, but we’re excited to announce that Fore Play Crazy Golf is here to stay.
“Our new home in Edinburgh city centre is a fantastic location and we’re delighted to be able to provide people in Edinburgh with a different night out to enjoy with friends or on a date. We’ve teamed up with some of the city’s best food and drink suppliers to make sure it’ll be a night to remember.”
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK
STAY HYDRATED
Staying hydrated throughout the day is really important for keeping your heart and circulatory system healthy. Dehydration makes the heart work harder and it can cause your blood pressure to drop. Being hydrated can also help with weight loss as thirst can quite often feel the same as hunger!
During hot weather, or physical activity, we lose water through sweating and this can lead to dehydration. Guidance says we should aim to drink between 6-8 cups of fluid every day.
Have a read of some of our tips below to help you stay hydrated.
How do I know if I am dehydrated?
When you become dehydrated, you may notice symptoms such as headaches, tiredness, irritability or difficulty concentrating. The easiest way to tell if you are dehydrated is the colour of your urine. If your urine is pale and clear then you’re hydrated. However, if your urine becomes more yellow, brown or dark in colour with a strong smell, this suggests you aren’t drinking enough.
I’m struggling to keep hydrated – what can I do?
Regular drinks of water throughout the day is the best way to keep hydrated. Water is always best, but if you don’t like water, or want to mix things up, fluids such as herbal teas and sugar-free squash are also good. You should avoid having too many drinks with added sugar and caffeine in them, such as sweet tea and coffee, energy drinks or sugary pop.
Keeping hydrated out and about
If you’re going out for the day, make sure you take a drink with you. You can also get water from foods. Fruit and vegetables tend to have a high water content, especially cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, oranges and apples.
Try snacking on these foods rather than foods with a high fat and salt content, such as crisps or salted nuts, as these can make you feel thirsty.
Green-fingered gardening enthusiasts are being given expert tips on how to make their gardens bloom while keeping water usage low.
Herbaceous Supervisor at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) Kirsty Wilson, who is also a BBC Beechgrove presenter, is supporting a drive with Scottish Water to remind homeowners of ways to be more environmentally friendly when it comes to gardening.
Kirsty said that although her ‘garden’ at RBGE is 70 acres, there are plenty of methods that people can adopt in their domestic setting to ensure they are not being wasteful with water.
Ensuring water resources are protected and waste reduced is a vital part of how Scottish Water is supporting sustainability, which is being highlighted during Climate Week.
One of the best tips is to water in the morning, which will allow plants to draw from water throughout the day, avoiding anything draining away overnight.
Kirsty said: “We can train our plants to drink water slowly by giving them less water, which will actually encourage them to drink less. In essence, if you keep the glass half full, your plants will adapt and learn to drink more slowly.
“If we swap hoses for watering cans, we can save a lot of water – using a watering can slows the flow of water, meaning more water stays in your plant pot rather than running out of the base.”
People with gardens should avoid watering lawns and grass, as the average lawn will bounce back quickly after a burst of rainfall – which is still always likely in Scotland.
Kirsty, who has also worked at Highgrove House for HRH the Prince of Wales, RBGE’s royal patron, added: “You can make your garden more environmentally friendly by installing a water butt – not only is rainwater better for your plans than mains tap water, it reduces pressure on drains during periods of heavy rain.
“If you don’t have space for a water butt, you can improve how well your soil holds water by adding organic materials like homemade compost, so when it does rain the soil retains more water.
“Water from your household is also ok to use, with care, on your outdoor plants – water from your kitchen, washing machine, baths or showers, is safe to use on most garden plants.”
RBGE is the latest to Join the Wave in supporting Scottish Water’s ‘Your Water Your Life’ campaign, which aims to encourage people to celebrate the country’s precious, natural resource – our Scottish tap water.
According to Kirsty and RBGE, gardens play an important role in preventing surface water from flooding urban areas. Green spaces soak up rain, whereas tarmac and paving can increase the amount of rainwater that runs off into street drains.
RBGE is also pioneering an experimental ‘Raingarden’ which is already proving to be helpful in understanding and planning strategies for coping with unpredictable weather.
Kirsty added: “Longer dry periods followed by heavy downpours are particularly problematic in terms of maintaining plant health and avoiding localised flooding in gardens of all sizes.
“Lawns are simply not effective at soaking up or trapping excess water and the answer does not lie in resorting to concrete or paving. We need to develop different gardening practices. Replacing hard surfaces and grass areas with a mixed selection of herbaceous perennials and shrubs can capture water runoff and increase the wildlife and habitat value of the area. This is a model that can be picked up and adapted to suit the needs of any plot, large or small.”
Brian Lironi, Director of Corporate Affairs at Scottish Water, said: “‘Your Water Your Life’ aims to highlight the importance of water in all of our lives, encouraging us to think about our water usage in a different way.
“Gardens and green spaces played a huge role in our lives during lockdown as a positive place and outlet for many of us to channel our energy. These tips show us how easy it is to keep our gardens green and beautiful while also being mindful of how much water we use.
“As we all strive to reduce the impact of all our activity on the environment and increase biodiversity, using water efficiently, saving it where we can and reducing waste, will really help.”
As Herbaceous Supervisor at RBGE, Kirsty is part of a globally important plant research and conservation horticulture institute, working at home and around the world to combat the impact of the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.
Kirsty works with scientists and fellow horticulturists, outreach ranges from engaging with students and volunteers to her Beechgrove appearances, leading tours, writing articles, and inspiring citizens of Scotland to make changes for the better.
Edinburgh International Film Festival and Unique Events, organisers of Drive-in Movies at Edinburgh Airport, are pleased to announce a special Halloween programme for the next four-day outdoor cinema extravaganza, supported by Edinburgh Live, taking place between 29 October and 1 November.
Packed-full with scary movies and fright-filled pre-film activities with ghoulish prizes, this special event is the perfect Halloween celebration in a safe, socially-distant environment.
Tickets for the Drive-in Movies – Halloween edition are now on sale at edinburghdrivein.co.uk with another fantastic programme of cinema classics including Ghostbusters, Jaws, The Lost Boys and Halloween alongside family favourites such as E.T., Coco and Jurassic Park.
Following a very successful opening weekend in August which saw over 4,000 people enjoying the event in a safe and family-friendly environment, Drive-in Movies fun continues this October with a scarily fantastic programme of Halloween-themed films and activities.
Edinburgh DJ Stewart Calverto will once again warm-up the crowds as ‘Count Calverto’ with Halloween-themed sing-along car disco and quizzes with spot prizes. There will also be ghoulish prizes for the best Halloween costumes and best Car-ved Pumpkins displayed on dashboards.
Edinburgh’s Drive-in Movies truly is the place to go for Halloween fun this year!
Audiences are being asked to vote on social media on their Fright Night Favourite horror film for the late Sunday slot: Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic Psycho (1960), John Carpenter’s sci-fi horror The Thing (1982), William Friedkin’s supernatural The Exorcist (1973) or Wes Craven’s first of the slasher series, Scream (1996). To cast a vote, check out Edinburgh International Film Festival’s poll on Twitter and Facebook.
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER
6.30pm GHOSTBUSTERS, 1984 (captioned)
10pm ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, 1975 (captioned)
FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER
6.30pm THE LOST BOYS, 1987 (captioned)
10pm DONNIE DARKO, 2001
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER
10.30am COCO, 2017 (captioned)
2pm E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, 1982 (captioned)
6pm JAWS, 1975 (captioned)
10pm HALLOWEEN, 1978
SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER
10.30am HOCUS POCUS, 1993 (captioned)
2pm LABYRINTH, 1986 (captioned)
5.30pm JURASSIC PARK, 1993 (captioned)
9.30pm public vote film: PSYCHO / THE THING / THE EXORCIST / SCREAM
Tickets are available now at www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk, priced from £27.50 to £35.00 (+ booking fee) per vehicle for up to 5 persons.
This top-notch selection of films will be shown on a state of the art 100sqm LED screen, one of the largest mobile screens in the world with the audio broadcast straight to cars, for audiences to control the soundtrack.
Prior to each film, audiences will be able to sample some of the best fish and chips in the country from seafood specialists Alandas and for those not behind the wheel, Edinburgh-based award-winning brewery Cold Town Beer will be on site to serve beers and cocktails, as well as burgers and nachos.
New guide names Napier University as top Scottish ‘modern‘
Edinburgh Napier has made a dramatic surge through UK university rankings in back-to-back assessments carried out for the national Press.
The University climbed 38 places in the rankings for The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021, published this weekend, and was the highest placed of the Scottish post-1992 modern universities.
The success follows hot on the heels of another significant leap, in the Guardian University Guide, which saw Edinburgh Napier move up 43 places in the overall table.
And just two months ago, the University was ranked number one in Edinburgh for student satisfaction, according to the National Student Survey (NSS) 2020.
The largest student feedback survey in the world revealed an overall satisfaction level of 86 per cent at the University – up seven per cent on last year.
Professor Andrea Nolan, Principal of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Our climb through the rankings is a wonderful lift for everyone at Edinburgh Napier in what are, and will continue to be, extremely challenging times for Higher Education.
“These tables are based on varying sets of metrics so to perform so impressively in successive assessments of the university landscape is a tribute to the hard work which goes into ensuring studying here is a rewarding experience.
“It is particularly pleasing to be ranked the top modern university in Scotland, an accolade which will inspire us to keep setting high standards as we embark on a new academic year.”
The Times and Sunday Times Guide places Edinburgh Napier ninth in Scotland and 63rd in the UK, a significant leap from last year’s UK rank of 101st.
Fuller details of the analysis carried out for the guide will be published on Sunday, but it follows the jump of 43 places in the Guardian Guide earlier this month, the largest increase in rank of any Scottish institution, to joint 62nd out of 122 UK universities.
The earlier guide saw Edinburgh Napier named the top institution for Film Production & Photography in the UK, and number one for Music and Media & Film Studies among the modern universities.
The university had five subjects in the top 10 for UK institutions – Film Production & Photography (1), Media & Film Studies (5), Hospitality, Event Management & Tourism (6), Music (7) and Journalism, Publishing & Public Relations (10).
The National Student Survey which was published over the summer saw satisfaction levels among students rise in all six of the University’s Schools; Applied Sciences (84 to 86 per cent), Arts & Creative Industries (84 to 94), Computing (81 to 85), Engineering & the Built Environment (78 to 79), Health & Social Care (67 to 81) and the Business School (84 to 87).
Every university in the UK participates in the survey.
TWO men aged 26 and 29 have been arrested and charged in connection with an attempted murder in Edinburgh.
The incident happened around 6.45pm last Sunday (13 September) when police and emergency services were called after a 34-year-old man was seriously injured during an altercation in Panmure Place. His condition is currently described as stable.
Both men are due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday (21 September). A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
PM Boris Johnson warns of further measures following rapid rise in coronvirus cases
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend the weekend considering whether to tighten Covid-19 measures further, after saying the UK was “now seeing a second wave”.
Speaking during a visit to a Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre construction site near Oxford, Mr Johnson said: “There’s no question, as I’ve said for several weeks now, that we could expect – and are now seeing – a second wave coming in.
“We are seeing it in France, in Spain, across Europe – it has been absolutely, I’m afraid, inevitable we were going to see it in this country.”
The government is now looking at a ban on households in England mixing, and reducing opening hours for pubs and restaurants and is considering the introduction of a nationwide ‘circuit break’ to halt the spread of the virus.
At least 13.5 million people – around one in five of the UK population – are already facing local restrictions, including a swathe of the West of Scotland. The latest area to be added is the North West of England, which will see new measures introduced on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister only has direct power over restrictions in England, however, and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can set their own rules. They are urging the PM to call an emergency COBRA meeting over the weekend to agree a coordinated approach to address the latest surge.
Coronavirus cases are now doubling everTy seven to eight days, with 4,322 confirmed cases yesterday – the highest daily total of positive tests 8 May.
Mr Johnson said he did not “want to go into bigger lockdown measures” but that tighter social distancing rules might be necessary.
He added: “Clearly when you look at what is happening, you have got to wonder whether we need to go further than the rule of six that we brought in on Monday.”
IAM RoadSmart study finds that one-in-five drivers and riders are more anxious about being on the road since lockdown
More than four-in-five motorists felt they weren’t getting the mental health support they needed and admitted to ‘suffering in silence’
Almost two thirds of people are worried about giving someone a lift from the fear of catching COVID-19
Further periods off the road, such as a local lockdown or a second national lockdown, could have road safety implications, warns the road safety charity
One-in-five drivers and riders are more anxious about being on the road since the start of lockdown, a study by IAM RoadSmart has discovered.
With local lockdowns becoming increasingly common and the ever-present risk of a further national lockdown over the coming months, the UK’s largest independent road safety charity is concerned that increased anxiety, stress levels and diminished confidence levels in day-to-day driving could be triggered by a second prolonged period off the road, which could have road safety implications.
More than eight-in-10 motorists surveyed admitted to ‘suffering in silence’ after feeling they weren’t getting the support they needed to deal with feelings of anxiety brought on by the lockdown. This figure may rise in the event of further lockdowns, presenting an even greater road safety risk after a second spell of limited travelling.
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 65 per cent felt worried about offering someone, like a friend or colleague, a lift in their car or on their motorcycle, from fear of catching COVID-19.
The anxiety findings reflect insight from a leading expert in driver and rider behaviour Professor Alex Stedmon, a cognitive psychologist who works as an independent transport consultant at Open Road Simulation Ltd. His expertise has highlighted how the skill of driving or riding is unlikely to have disappeared over lockdown, but that confidence and familiarity might.
Professor Stedmon said: “Simply put, the brain works on two levels. It has short-term or working memory, which has a small capacity and focusses on what you’re doing at that precise moment, and everything else is long-term memory, the place where we transfer the processes that make up our skills – such as driving.
“The mechanics of driving or riding aren’t going to evaporate over lockdown, but the confidence and familiarity of driving a car or riding a motorcycle might, which could lead to increased levels of anxiety.”
Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart’s Head of Driving and Riding Standards, said: “Confidence is a major factor in how we drive or ride, particularly for those who have been driving or riding less in recent months.
“A loss of confidence can increase anxiety which in turn puts us at greater risk of being involved in an incident on the road.
“The good news is there are some simple things we can all do to make sure we maintain our confidence and minimise the risk of anxiety creeping in when we are driving or riding. As the foundation to all safer driving and riding, these reflect a common-sense approach that is easy to make part of your everyday driving and riding.
“Through planning and preparation before your journey, staying focused on the road and avoiding distractions and by sharing the road considerately with all other road users, being mindful of our limits and taking time to get the basics right, we can all stay sharp and keep safe.”
Further findings from the survey also reveal the different attitudes towards stress and anxiety levels in the UK regions.
The increased number of cyclists on the road is causing motorists in Scotland the most stress, with almost half (46 per cent) of people admitting this, followed closely by 41 per cent of people in the South East.
While 39 per cent of people in Northern Ireland have found more pedestrians on the roads and pavements the greatest source of stress and increased anxiety levels since the start of lockdown.
In the West Midlands, 54 per cent of motorists were most concerned about the standards of other people’s driving following a long break off the roads throughout lockdown, followed closely by 44 per cent of motorists in the South West who also had the same concerns.
In Wales, 75 per cent of motorists, and in London 67 per cent of motorists, were most worried about catching COVID-19 from giving someone a lift in their car or on their bike.
IAM RoadSmart offers a range of driver and rider assessments and skills refreshers as well as Advanced Driver and Rider courses.
Richard added: “Anyone who feels they have lost confidence or feels more anxious about taking to the roads will find a refresher of the basics now could help reduce stress and prepare them for whatever the future holds in terms of driving and riding.
“It could also improve wellbeing and mental health, something that is more important than ever in these uncertain times. All in-car training adheres to government social distancing guidelines.”
LifeCare, the older person’s charity based in Stockbridge is pleased to announce September’s instalment of its very popular monthly History Talks which cover local history and are delivered by local people and organisations.
This month’s talk will be on Dean Village and will be given by Keith Walker. It will take place on Tuesday 29 September from 3pm – 4pm on Zoom.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House this afternoon (Friday 18 September):
I can report that the total number of positive cases that were reported yesterday was 203. This represents 4.4% of people newly tested and takes the total number of cases now to 23,776.
Let me remind you again that these are positive cases reported yesterday.
Because of the processing backlog we have been dealing with, which as I said yesterday is improving, more of these than normal may be from swabs taken over the past few days.
However, as I’ve also said before, when we look at whether case numbers are rising or not, we look at results by the date the sample was taken, not just the reporting date – so the backlog doesn’t distort our trend analysis.
The full regional breakdown will be published later as normal, but I can confirm now that 69 of the 203 cases are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 30 in Lothian, and 29 in Lanarkshire. The remaining 75 are across the other 8 mainland health board areas.
I can also confirm that 61 people are in hospital – which is an increase of 9 on yesterday. 5 people are in intensive care, which is the same as yesterday. And finally, I regret to say that in the past 24 hours, one additional death was registered of a patient who first tested positive over the previous 28 days.
That means that the total number of deaths, under this daily measurement, is now 2,502.
This is a reminder that we are again reporting deaths, albeit small numbers, on a regular basis again.
That’s an indication that in Scotland, as elsewhere, Covid is accelerating again, and I will say more about that shortly.
But I want once again to pass on my condolences to everybody who has lost a loved one to this illness – including of course, those grieving as a result of the death that was registered yesterday.
I’m joined today by our National Clinical Director Jason Leitch. After my remarks, Jason will say a few words about the news this morning that an Edinburgh Rugby Academy player has tested positive for Covid.
Before that, though, here are a few items I want to cover.
The first let me briefly highlight an announcement that was made by the Scottish Government last night.
We have added two additional places to the list of those that are subject to quarantine restrictions. Those are Slovenia and Guadeloupe.
That means that from tomorrow, people travelling to Scotland from these countries must self-isolate for 14 days, upon their return or arrival in Scotland. And it is very important that people comply with that.
By contrast, Singapore and Thailand were removed from the international list.
So anyone arriving from either of these countries, from tomorrow, no longer has to quarantine. However, if you have arrived from Singapore or Thailand in the past few days, you do need to complete your 14 days of isolation.
This is all a further reminder of how quickly levels of the virus – in any country or area – can change. So I’ll say again, please avoid non-essential overseas travel at the moment, if possible.
Indeed, please think carefully about non-essential travel at home, as well. In particular, avoid travelling to parts of the UK, that are under tougher restrictions right now because levels of Covid are rising fastest.
The main thing I want to do today is to take a moment to take stock of where the country stands right now in the pandemic.
We are seeing increasing numbers of places both here in Scotland and across the rest of the UK that are under local and regional restrictions. And, many will have woken up this morning to hear the news of the potential for new national restrictions.
The bottom line here is that the virus is on the rise again.
Our case numbers are not yet rising as fast as there were back in March. But they are rising again and they are rising quite rapidly. The percentage of tests coming back positive is also not anywhere near as high as it was back in March, but again it is rising.
And as I reported yesterday, the R number we believe is now above 1.
Across the UK, and this is particularly the case in England right now, hospital admissions are rising. ICU admissions are rising too. While this is particularly the case in England right now, this should sound a warning signal for us here in Scotland too.
And, while for the last few weeks, people might have taken comfort from the low levels of older, more vulnerable people contracting the virus, I have to say to you that picture is also beginning to change.
Recent data shows that the percentage of cases in the older population is now beginning to rise as well.
Looking more widely, we can observe that in broad terms we might now be, at an earlier stage, on a similar path to that which has been taken in recent weeks by France.
About four weeks ago, France stood broadly where we do today.
But now they face around 10,000 new cases per day and hundreds of people in ICU and deaths in France are already rising now as well.
So our task is to make sure – if we can – that we interrupt that, and we don’t end up where they are now.
What lies behind this is a simple reality: we are facing the risk again of exponential growth in Covid. And we all know from our experience earlier this year what that looks like, and why it is so important to seek to avoid it.
So, I want to talk briefly about what we need to do.
First and foremost, we need to act to interrupt that exponential growth. No one wants to see another full-scale lockdown.
And, above all, we want to keep schools and childcare open because we know how important that is to the education but also to the broader well-being of children and young people.
So right now, and I mean right now, today, over the weekend and into next week, that means following all of the rules and the advice currently in place.
Work from home if you can, that remains our advice. As I said a moment ago, avoid if you can non-essential travel. Don’t meet up with any more than six people from a maximum of two households, indoors and outdoors.
If you live in Glasgow, as I do, or in East or West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire or East Renfrewshire, North or South Lanarkshire, don’t visit other households at all, unless you have to visit to care for or deliver shopping to a vulnerable person.
The fact is we know, and this is one of the things we have learned about this virus, is that when it gets into a household, it is very likely to infect everyone in that household.
So to be blunt, we must do everything we can to keep it out of our households. When we do have to interact with others, the last piece of advice I want to remind you of right now, is to remember to follow FACTS: all of the basic things that help us reduce the risks of transmitting the virus.
These are the current rules and I am asking everybody to please abide by them strictly and rigorously. But it may well be that if we are to interrupt and break this growth, we will have to do more over the next few weeks. And this weekend will be critical in the assessment of how best to do that.
As widely reported, SAGE met yesterday. I have chaired a meeting of senior Scottish Government officials and advisors this morning to assess the current situation and discussions across the 4 nations of the UK will, I hope, take place in the coming days. I’ve this morning asked the Prime Minister to convene a COBRA meeting over this weekend.
So, I am today giving the nation advance notice, that the coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions.
If we want to avoid another full-scale lockdown, which all of us do, doing nothing almost certainly isn’t an option.
Now I will of course, as I have sought to do throughout this pandemic, keep you regularly and fully updated. But for now, over this weekend, please rigorously follow all of the current rules and all of the current advice.
Now there is another issue that I want to update you on, another area where some of us may be able to help in the fight against this virus, and it involves Scotland’s involvement in the UK-wide COVID Infection Survey.
The survey is designed to track the spread and prevalence of the virus in the general population. It is conducted by the Office for National Statistics, and the University of Oxford. And following a successful pilot in England, it has been expanded to other parts of the UK.
In Scotland, it will ultimately see up to 15,000 people being tested, every fortnight. Households will be randomly selected for the survey. And over the coming period, these households will all be sent a letter, inviting them to participate.
Those letters will provide details on how to register. The first of them should be arriving today. And from Monday, survey teams will begin visiting households that agree to take part.
Those who do take part will be asked to administer swabs to their throats and noses, to test for the virus. People aged 12 years or older can take the swab themselves – but parents and carers should administer them for younger children. A subset of participants – over the age of 16 – will also be invited to provide blood samples, to test whether they have already have had Covid.
Participants will be asked to take further tests every week for the first 5 weeks, then every month for up to a year. Members of the survey team will visit households, to collect the tests.
These results will help us to see how many people are infected with the virus at a given point in time – whether ot not they have symptoms.
And they will give us a sense of how many people are ever likely to have had the infection. They should therefore provide us with really important new insights into the spread of Covid in Scotland.
The survey will also provide additional data on the characteristics of those who are testing positive and so it will help us to examine any difference in the impact of the virus, on different groups in society.
The initial survey results for Scotland should be available in November. But that is dependent, and that is why I am raising it today, on people’s willingness to sign up. So if you receive a letter, and you are able to do so, I encourage you to take part in this survey, it is really important and it will be a vital tool in our efforts to understand the virus and therefore equip ourselves better to know the things to keep it under control.
Now to close today, I want to really come back to emphasise my earlier point and really emphasise to you that we are at another really critical point. Covid-19 is on the rise. Not just here in Scotland, it is on the rise in the UK and across Europe.
Just yesterday, the World Health Organization warned that weekly cases across Europe, have now topped 300,000.
That’s higher than it was in March – when the virus first peaked.
As the WHO has said, that must serve as a wake-up call for all of us. The virus could get out of our grip again. That’s the news that should be the wake-up call.
The better news is that hasn’t happened yet: we do still have time to prevent it happening, and that is down to Government to take a lead and be very clear and decisive in what we have to do, but it also ultimately comes down to all of us. So before I hand over to Jason, I want remind all you watching, and to ask you to remind others, of what we need you to do.
If you live in Glasgow; East or West Dunbartonshire; Renfrewshire or East Renfrewshire; North or South Lanarkshire, please don’t visit any other households anywhere in Scotland.
In the rest of the country, please do not meet with more than 6 people, from a maximum of 2 households. Don’t give the virus an opportunity to spread between households, because if it spreads between households we know it quickly spreads within households.
Download the Protect Scotland app, if you haven’t already done so. A million people have done so, already. We know that will help make a difference
And finally – in everything you do – lets all follow the FACTS. These are the five golden rules that help all us of us minimise the risk of transmission:
Face coverings in enclosed spaces
Avoid crowded places.
Clean hands and clean all hard surfaces that you are touching regularly
keep two metres away from people other households.
and self isolate, and book a test, if you have symptoms.
We are at a critical point right now, but as I said in one of these briefings a couple of days ago, nothing is inevitable. We all have power to try and stop this virus running out of control again.
I know the responsibility that is on the shoulders of me and the government here to take the hard decisions that will determine whether we succeed or not.
But as I have said, so many times throughout, this is down to all of us. We are all in this together and it is only by acting together that we can stop it running out of control and ultimately save lives.
My thanks again to everybody who I know are making all sorts of sacrifices to help us do that. Keep spreading the word to everyone you know.
