Following the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Aberdeen, people are reminded of the importance of self-isolation to control the spread of the virus.
Once a positive case is identified, contact tracers will call all of their close contacts and advise them to self-isolate for 14 days.
Calls from contact tracers will come from one number – 0800 0308 012 – and the identity of the positive case will not be disclosed.
Interim Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith said: “Test and Protect is vital to help us suppress the virus and identify any local outbreaks like the one in Aberdeen.
“It is crucial that people who are identified as close contacts of a positive index case follow the advice given by the contact tracer and self-isolate for 14 days.
“If you are a contact of a positive case you must still self-isolate even if you get a negative test result. A negative result is not a substitute for self-isolating as people can be asymptomatic and test positive at a later date.
“Self-isolation, as part of the Test and Protect system, will help us contain the spread of the virus and help us move out of lockdown.”
People with any of the following symptoms should self-isolate and book a test at nhsinform.scot/test-and-protect or call 0800 028 2816 if they are unable to access the online service:
NHS workers held demonstrations all across the UK on Saturday to demand a 15% pay rise for ALL sectors within the service.
Campaigners sent a clear message to the government: We do not accept your plans to exclude us from the public sector pay increase, and we will make ourselves heard until you listen!
Jennifer Gough Brown sent these images from the Edinburgh demo at the Scottish Parliament:
‘Everything has a silver lining’ – this goes for most things and our AGM was no exception (writes ELREC Chair FOYSUL CHOUDHURY MBE). Even during difficult times like such, we as a humanity find ways to not only survive but thrive.
As many of you know, we had the AGM scheduled for March 2020 but due to Covid -19 it was cancelled, and we then went into lockdown. During this time everything went digital and Zoom is now a very common source of conducting meetings, workshops, and classes.
So, we also decided to host our AGM online via Zoom on Wednesday 5th August 2020 and it was just as wonderful as the ‘real’ deal!
The AGM was hosted by ELREC Chair, Foysol Choudhury MBE who welcomed everyone and introduced ELREC’s Honorary Patron, and Lord Provost to the City of Edinburgh, Frank Ross:
Rt Hon Frank Ross – Lord Provost for the City of Edinburgh
Lord Provost welcomed everyone to our AGM and congratulated community groups for coming together during this very difficult time. “Edinburgh is the most successful economy in Scotland with 94 per of its population in employment. We are world centre for celebrating culture and festivals attracting 4 million visitors each year. Since March 2020, our city has been closed to protect ourselves and others from the virus and lives have been disrupted such as schooling, businesses as well as our traditions”. I thank local groups for observing lockdown during the Muslim Eid celebrations and other celebrations which fell during this time.
Since March 2020:
Edinburgh has provided and delivered 200 food parcels to the vulnerable and poor families every day. 1600 to those in shielding, 100 million pounds of support has been provided to businesses and enterprises over last 4 months. 3000 community care grants paid every month,2000 people supported through crisis centres, 200 additional bed spaces created to eliminate homelessness in our city.
These last 4 months have seen communities being resilient and coming together like nothing I have ever seen. During this time volunteering has trebled.
Moving ahead I urge ELREC to continue its work in substantial public society by maximising inclusion and access to employment and access to equality, justice, and access to services. On behalf of Civic Edinburgh, I pass gratitude to ELREC board, staff, volunteers, and partners in their contributions in minimising impact of coronavirus and the lockdown within their communities.
Sarah Boyack – MSP – Member of local government and communities committee.
I want to thank the communities and local groups for all their efforts during this unprecedented time. There are many lessons to be learned from this situation and one is that we cannot go back to the old way of living. We need to create a better society to what we had before lockdown, our focus has been on how to protect people from Covid particularly the vulnerable, and access to practical support for people who have lost jobs, loved ones and are really in need of help.
Some of the issues I have been working on these past few months are that people are worried about the long term effects of Covid and the lockdown on their mental health, more testing in care homes and for care workers and support for teachers and their staff in schools and ensure that our local authorities have the resources they need to make this happen.
I have also had lots of letters asking me what the scientific guidance is on opening religious places and supporting people in workplaces once we return to work. I can tell you that this is the busiest the parliament has ever been.
Or governments need to work together to reduce the effect of the virus on people, find a vaccine and ensure funding for businesses is available to get our economy up and running again.
We also had a debate in parliament on Black Lives Matter movement and three big things we agreed that need to happen were:
A Museum of slavery to look at the history of black lives
School curriculum needs to include this
Establishment of an expert advisory group on to look at the effects of Covid on bme people
I have also been contacted by the son of the Late Saroj Lal who was the first bme teacher and community worker and worked for ELREC and many community organisations in Edinburgh and did some amazing work. We will be planning a session in parliament to remember and celebrate Saroj soon. The Chair thanked Sarah for organising this and ELREC would be happy to be involved in this.
The pandemic is only reiterated the value of our front-line staff and service workers and we want to ensure everyone has equal opportunities and that our services are fairer and allow people to serve their country.
Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE
I want to start by conveying my dearest sympathies to the people who have died or are sick and pray that we can manage this disease and minimise the damage further. These are unprecedented times.
Different parts of the country are talking of the links to chattel slavery and we must change attitudes and start with schools and tell children why black people are in this situation. The curriculum must teach the truth.
“Itseasiertomendbrokenchildrenthanmendbrokenmen”
Do not let things be nice to do, make it part of the curriculum and it becomes the attitude of the people we produce in the future.
I have given interviews for Canada, Japan and South Africa, Jamaica and other Caribbean connections and the world is interested not in me but in Edinburgh and what it is doing. What we are doing in our city is going worldwide and has attracted the attention on the world.
PromotingEqualityandFightingDiscrimination
ELREC is registered in Scotland as a company limited by guarantee no. 183419 and is a recognised Scottish Charity no. SC007896
The Henry Dundas statue in St Andrew square has been there for 199 years and its taken us this long to change the placard to include the word “slavery” on it. It may have taken a long time but its been worth it and truth be told.
Edinburgh is a city that is seen by the world as doing something about Black Lives issue and I am grateful for ELREC for making lives better for its bme communities in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.
Councillor Donald Wilson – Convener Culture and Communities Committee
I am proud to be part of discussions on our history and making changes. Some of the silver lining has been reaction of communities and organisations who have stepped up and been involved in their local areas.
The Impact this has had on elderly and how we treat our elderly and our role and priority we have in society and role of culture on our mental wellbeing. In terms of mental health and realising role of culture has on mental health and wellbeing is essential part of our lives.
Edinburgh is a world class city of culture, and Covid has had a massive impact on it, we must do what we can, culturally and civically and its vital for our wellbeing. Our committee had been suspended and rightly so and is restarting soon and rightly so as its time to get back and argue the case for culture and strong communities.
Police – Chief Superintendent Sean Scott
Policing over the last four months has been something I have ever seen before. We were given new powers and had to learn quickly. I must say though that communities came together fantastically in the last 4 months, and we have not had major issues to report.
During these rather difficult times we wanted to be as tolerant as possible and the last resort was to enforce however Edinburgh and the bme communities have been fantastic with adhering to the rules. We may not have got it right every time, but we took the right approach and have a new survey online for feedback, so please do have a look at this on our website and send us feedback.
Going forward we closely monitor social tensions and are working very closely with our partners so that we can provide the right protection service to our local communities.
Crime is dramatically down last number of months, but anti-social behaviour has increased but not any great levels to cause any worry.
I thank ELREC and other partners for their continuous efforts and support making our work easier.
I would also like to mention that we have a new ACC, Tim Maier’s who will be joining us soon. The Chair thanked Sean and the rest of the Police for their swift action on the issue of hate incidents against the Asian community in Edinburgh due to Covid.
MSP Ben McPherson – Minister for Public Finance and Migration
Ben is the MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith.
In support of the health service and third sector that has come together in a tremendous way has been one of the positive things to come out of this terrible situation, my condolences for those who have lost their loved ones to the virus. We need to learn the lessons from this such as
PromotingEqualityandFightingDiscrimination
ELREC is registered in Scotland as a company limited by guarantee no. 183419 and is a recognised Scottish Charity no. SC007896
how we can adapt to the changes and inequalities Covid has raised and the humanity that has strengthened the process. How do I support local organisations, and local businesses? Money has been made available and given quickly during this time to help with this. Recognising our own society and understanding our history to build a better society. I thank Sir Geoff for always inspiring us to be proactive and better.
ELREC Projects
Our current projects: Communities for Conservation, Equalities Engagement, Open Arms, True Colours, are all doing well despite the current situation.
Many of our services have gone online and some just cant. We want to thank the funders for their patience and understanding during this time. During lockdown we started 2 new projects, equally informed which disseminates information in different languages related to Covid and the lockdown restrictions to various ethnic minority groups in Edinburgh.
The purpose of this work is to ensure our local diverse communities have access to the official guidance and its understandable. We have also been working in partnership with Edinburgh Community Food, Lieth Decides and Port of Leith Housing to provide food parcels to local bme communities in North of Edinburgh.
Many of the communities need halal meat and products so our food parcels are specific to the needs of the local groups we represent here in Edinburgh. The Lockdown and Covid has pushed many of our local bme groups into poverty so this little help offers some support.
Appointment of Board Members
This year we had four board members retiring so we had four vacancies.
Mrs Shana Rams and Mr Irshad Ahmed were elected as new board members, and Mrs Magdalena Sajnaga and Cllr Carl John were re-elected.
Vice Chair, Shami Khan and the Chair thanked the speakers and everyone for attending and participating in ELREC’s AGM. We thank all front-line staff for all their hard work and public services for keeping the city moving during these unprecedented times.
Bright Red Triangle supporting more businesses than ever before
Bright Red Triangle – Edinburgh Napier University’s hub for innovation and enterprise – is supporting more businesses than ever before after an increase in the uptake of its services during lockdown.
The hub – which provides a range of support that allows students and alumni to explore, test and develop business ideas – has reported a 30% increase in business sign-ups.
Bright Red Triangle has had 71 start-ups register with it during 2019/20 – with a number of these new sign-ups coming during lockdown as students and alumni prepare for life in a post Covid-19 economy. A total of 554 students and graduates are now part of the wider Bright Red Triangle community.
Nick Fannin, head of Bright Red Triangle, is delighted with the increase and believes that more and more people will be looking to start their own business as a result of an increasingly difficult economic climate.
He said: “With the economy contracting and competition for graduate jobs increasing, it is becoming more important to enable our graduates to make opportunities for themselves and to be prepared to build their own portfolio careers from a mix of employed, freelance and self-employed work.
“Employability skills, particularly enterprise skills, are going to be incredibly important as we look forward and Bright Red Triangle has a big role to play at Edinburgh Napier in helping our students and alumni to prepare for life living in the post Covid-19 economy.
“Starting a business or a side hustle can be a game changer for people struggling with employment in the current economic climate. Our students and graduates are already starting to recognise this and we are thrilled to have seen a spike in the numbers of new businesses registered with our incubators. We look forward to supporting these start-ups further in the months and years ahead.”
Despite the University’s campuses being forced to close to both students and staff as a result of the pandemic in March, the Bright Red Triangle team has continued to virtually support its members with a number of online initiatives throughout the last four months.
Most recently – thanks to generous support from Santander Universities – 22 entrepreneurs representing 16 businesses took part in Bright Red Triangle’s Summer Accelerator programme.
Over the course of four weeks, its team of experienced business advisers delivered practical online workshops to support these ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate their ideas and reach their business goals.
The programme also included a suite of helpful business start-up resources, one-to-one coaching, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, networking opportunities, and advice from experienced professionals and entrepreneurs within the entrepreneurial eco-system in Edinburgh and beyond.
The programme culminated in a pitching competition, where participants had the chance to win a share of £6,000 provided by Santander Universities. Lindsey McArthur of Santander Universities and Bruce Walker, CEO of FutureX, were part of the judging panel.
Taking home the top prize of £3,000 was Fine Piece, a Scottish design company that specialises in producing furniture and homewares made from reclaimed and recycled materials.
Also winning was Aaron Reid who was awarded £2,000 towards his fitness training business, Lifestyle, and career coaching start-up, pRESPECT, who was awarded £500.
Fine Piece, which was founded by Edinburgh Napier product design graduate, Kirsty McKain and her business partner, Rebecca Subido, was delighted to take home the top prize.
Kirsty and Becka said: “Covid-19 was the catalyst for us to apply for the summer accelerator programme at Bright Red Triangle. Having fallen through every gap in the government support schemes, we thought we might have to close up shop.
“We saw an opportunity with a plan we had in the pipeline – the turning school. With the money given to us through the programme we can not only survive but we can turn this pipeline dream into a reality.
“We are really excited for the future and grateful to the Bright Red Triangle team and Santander for this opportunity.”
More information on Bright Red Triangle can be found here, with more on its Summer Accelerator Programme here.
NSPCC calls for urgent action to tackle crisis of abuse
More than 5,000 child sex offences recorded by Police Scotland in 2019/20
Childline counselling sessions about sexual abuse in the family triple across UK during lockdown
NSPCC urges Scottish Government to draw up a Child Sexual Abuse Strategy that puts victims and prevention at its core
Police Scotland recorded an average of 15 child sex offences every day last year, new figures from the NSPCC reveal.
There were 5,311 recorded offences including rape, online grooming and sexual assault against children in Scotland in 2019/20 – up 30% in the five years since 2014/15.
In last year’s figures, where gender was recorded, girls were five times as likely to be victims, and in the offences where age category was given, 45% of the crimes recorded were against children under 13.
Across the UK, there were 73,518 recorded offences in 2019/20. The data was provided by a total of 44 out of 45 police forces after the NSPCC submitted a Freedom of Information request.
NSPCC Scotland believes these figures show the urgent need for national leadership to create a coordinated plan to tackle child sexual abuse, both online and offline, in the country.
The charity is now calling on the Scottish Government to follow other nations in the UK and set about producing a comprehensive Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.1
The charity is calling for the strategy to put the needs of children and young people at the centre of how authorities respond to child sexual abuse, with a focus on effective prevention and victims having access to timely, relevant and specialist support to help them recover.
NSPCC Scotland research2 has shown that the availability of specialist therapeutic sexual abuse services is patchy and inconsistent across the country.
Support should include that provided through Child House initiatives where health, policing, social work, therapeutic and other services provide help to children under one roof.
Matt Forde, NSPCC Scotland’s head of service, said: “Every day, children in Scotland are being sexually abused and having to live with the devastating impacts of this abuse on their lives.
“Urgent action is needed to prevent abuse and to ensure children are supported to recover when it is disclosed.
“In Scotland, we have seen numerous plans and initiatives launched to deal with various aspects of such abuse, including child sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviour.
“However, we believe it is crucial to have a joined-up approach when tackling this crime and want to see a strategy which puts the experiences and needs of children at the heart of it and is effective in preventing abuse and helping young people recover.”
The call comes as an NSPCC report found contacts from young people to Childline about sexual abuse in the family tripled across the UK during lockdown.
The report published today, ‘The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on child welfare: sexual abuse’, shows there were an average of 23 contacts to Childline per week about child sexual abuse in the home, up threefold since March 23rd when lockdown was announced.
Some children told Childline that sexual abuse had become more frequent during lockdown, as they were spending more time with their abuser.
One 17-year-old girl said: “It started during lockdown, about seven weeks ago. Dad touched me and got me to touch him. Today he came into my room and removed his trousers and asked me to do something to him and I did it.
“I don’t want to live here anymore. I feel I should tell social services about how abusive dad is, but I don’t feel ready to tell them about the sexual abuse part.”
A third of counselling sessions were about abuse in the family that happened over a year ago, with many children talking about it for the first time.
A 15-year-old girl told Childline: “My dad touched me sexually when I was younger and now I have to be home all the time with him and I can’t deal with it. Just being in the house with him is so hard. I am constantly reminded of what he did.”
Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000. Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support.
The interim results of a survey indicate that the majority of teachers retain serious concerns over the re-opening of schools this week.
The EIS opened the survey on Tuesday afternoon and, by Thursday morning, more than 24,000 teachers had completed the survey. The overwhelming message from the interim results is that, while teachers want to see schools re-open, they remain unconvinced that sufficient measures have been put in place to ensure safety.
Key data from the interim survey results includes:
A total of 24,354 teachers completed the survey from its launch on Tuesday 4 August to the morning of Thursday 6 August.
64% of teachers support the decision to re-open schools, but only 18% express confidence that schools are currently safe – indicating that much more needs to be done to ensure safety.
A minority of teachers believe that sufficient safeguards have been put in place to support the safe re-opening of schools.
Just 3% of teachers are ‘very confident’ that there is sufficient evidence that COVID-19 is sufficiently under control to support a safe return to school
Only 23% of teachers are ‘confident or very confident’ that an established capacity to test, trace and isolate is in place to support a safe return, with 58% expressing a lack of confidence.
Under 26% of teachers are confident that sufficient operational changes – such as effective social distancing and enhanced hygiene routines – will be in place to support a safe return to school with 60% lacking confidence.
72% of teachers support testing for asymptomatic members of staff to help supress the spread of COVID
62% of teachers feel either ‘somewhat unsafe’ or ‘very unsafe’ about returning to school next week.
Commenting on the interim findings, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The interim results of this survey highlight that Scotland’s teachers continue to have serious questions over the re-opening of schools next week.”
“The fact that more than 24,000 teachers completed the survey in a little over a day illustrates the high degree of concern that remains over COVID-19 and schools. Teachers want to see schools re-opening, so that they can get back to working with pupils in the classroom environment – but they are very clear that this has to be done safely.”
“The initial indications from this major survey confirm that teachers believe that much more still needs to be done to ensure their safety, and the safety of pupils and others within the school, can be properly protected as schools re-open.
“The EIS will be sharing both the initial and final results of this survey with the Scottish Government and local authorities, and will be seeking urgent discussions on the mitigations that teachers still want to see – such as sufficient social distancing, testing for asymptomatic staff, and the use of face coverings where required to ensure safety.”
The EIS survey will remain open until today (Monday) and full results will be released thereafter.
Edinburgh’s children start the return to school from Wednesday this week.
Care home residents will be able to receive more outdoor visitors from today (Monday, 10 August), Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has confirmed.
From today, care home residents will be able to have up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households provided their home meets strict criteria, with infection control measures remaining in place.
Since 3 July care homes which have met this criteria have been able to allow residents to meet with one designated visitor outdoors.
A care home will only be able to permit visiting if they have been COVID-free throughout the pandemic or if all affected residents have fully recovered and no residents or staff have had symptoms for 28 days and the home is actively participating in weekly staff testing.
Visitors will need to wear face coverings throughout their visit and physical distancing and hand and cough hygiene will need to be adhered to at all times.
Care home providers have also been asked to develop plans on how they can safely allow one designated indoor visitor for residents within their homes. These plans must be submitted by 24 August and will be signed off by the relevant health board’s Director of Public Health once they are satisfied with the plan and the home meets all the criteria for indoor visiting.
Essential visits, including those involving end of life care, and visits for residents who are experiencing distress have been permitted throughout the pandemic and should continue to be supported by care homes.
Ms Freeman said: “This has been, and continues to be, a very challenging time for care home residents, their families and staff.
“Care homes are first and foremost people’s homes and we are committed to reintroducing measures that allow residents to connect with their family and friends. But this must be done safely and with precautions.
“Progress has been made since we reintroduced one designated outdoor visitor earlier this month, and I am pleased the clinical advice is now that care homes that meet the strict criteria can now allow residents to have up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households.
“It is important that we continue to monitor this situation and that all changes within care homes happen incrementally and with real caution to protect residents and staff.
“At this point in time clinical advice is not to restart indoor care home visiting, but to ensure the necessary plans are in place to move to this as soon as safe to do so. This is being continually monitored and I hope we can give a further update on this in the coming weeks.
“We are also working to identify the necessary steps needed to restart communal activity within care homes and to reintroduce external outings by residents. This is a complex piece of work and we will of course include key partners in this.”
Scottish Care Chief Executive Donald Macaskill said: “The last few months have been exceptionally hard for folks in our care homes and for their families, being separated with only limited, often virtual, contact.
“At the beginning of July we opened up care homes to outdoor visiting and I am very pleased that in our slow journey back to normal life we can shortly allow the careful start of a degree of indoor visiting subject to local sign off by Public Health Officials. As well as this, it is positive that an increase in the numbers able to visit residents outdoors is now possible.
“Throughout the restoration of family visiting, we have tried to strike the hard balance between getting people back to seeing and being with their families and keeping residents, staff and others safe from the virus. We are very aware of how pernicious this virus is so guidance and measures will remain in place to protect everyone.”
Alzheimer Scotland’s new resources for care homes
Alzheimer Scotland has been working to respond to the main concerns expressed by callers to their 24-hour Freephone Dementia Helpline (0808 808 3000) and now have a suite of resources on their website’s Coronavirus Information Hub including podcasts and videos.
Cats Protection is asking cat owners to send in their feline footage for a new set of lockdown-based awards.
Sadly this year’s National Cat Awards, due to take place on 6 August at The Savoy in London, has had to be postponed until Thursday 5 August next year.
In its place, the charity is launching its Alternative Cat Awards 2020, which celebrates how cats and their owners have been keeping each other company during lockdown.
Whether it’s providing companionship, interrupting meetings, disrupting home schooling or getting involved in workouts, Cats Protection would like owners to show just how entertaining and supportive their feline friends have been, by sending in footage.
If your pawsome pal has made an outstanding contribution to your life this year, just upload a video of them to Instagram or Twitter using #AlternativeCatAwards into one of the following categories:
#PurinaPurrfectTeamwork – Celebrating the bond between cats and their owners working or studying during the lockdown period
#MischievousMoggy – Cats with interesting and playful behaviours that may have performed challenges or been a source of entertainment during lockdown
#SeniorKitizen – Mature cats aged 11 years and above
#PurrfectlyImperfect – Celebrating cats living happy, healthy lives with a disability, health issue or superficial aesthetic deformity
#BestNewcomer – Cats adopted from an animal rescue organisation in 2020
Category winners will be announced on Cats Protection’s social media channels throughout the day on Thursday 17 September 2020.
At the end of the day, the public will be asked to vote in a People’s Choice award for their favourite category winner, to be announced on Wednesday 23 September by cat-loving comedian Bob Mortimer.
The awards are sponsored by Cats Protection’s long-term corporate partner PURINA® and the five category winners will receive a bumper pack of Cats Protection goodies worth £100, with the People’s Choice winner also receiving a pair of tickets to next year’s National Cat Awards at The Savoy in London.
An online service of remembrance and concert, as well as a two-minute silence, will lead Scotland’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in Japan (VJ) Day on 15 August.
VJ Day saw the end of the conflict in the Far East and brought the Second World War to a close. Commemorations in Scotland will be led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Veterans Minister, Graeme Dey.
Mr Dey said: “The 75th anniversary of VJ Day is a time for the nation to come together to remember the sacrifices made by those individuals, from across Scotland and the UK, the Commonwealth and our Allied Nations, which ensured the peace and freedoms we enjoy today.
“All households were impacted in some way by the Second World War and it is important that we learn from those experiences so that the awful events that cost so many lives during the Second World War are never repeated.
“The whole country owes our current and ex-service personnel an immense debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice.”
Claire Armstrong, Chief Executive of Legion Scotland, said: “Whilst VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still engaged in bitter fighting in the Far East.
“This campaign saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War and in some of the harshest conditions with many thousands of British and Commonwealth forces and civilians being taken as prisoners of war, enduring terrible mental and physical trauma.
“Victory over Japan came at a heavy price, and VJ Day marks the day Japan surrendered on the 15 August 1945, which in effect ended the Second World War.
“On the 15th of August 2020 we will mark the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day and in partnership with Poppyscotland and Scottish Government we will pay tribute not only to the British forces but the Allied and Commonwealth forces, without whom the defeat of Japan would not have been possible.
“Through our programme of events will highlight the incredible service and sacrifice made by those who fought in the Far East campaign and unite the nation in remembrance of the remarkable WW2 generation.”
The Scottish Government has been working in partnership with Legion Scotland to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day through a series of events:
• The First Minister will feature in Legion Scotland’s online commemoration service and concert, issuing a message of thanks to our Second World War generation. This will be broadcast on Legion Scotland’s social media channels from 10.35, followed by the online concert from 12.00 until 13:00
• Veterans and Representatives from the Armed Forces will join the Veterans Minister Graeme Dey for a two-minute silence to remember all those who lost their lives
• The Red Arrows will perform a flypast of Edinburgh, as the first stop on a UK-wide tour
• Legion Scotland will be issuing medallions in honour of those who made a contribution to the war effort during the Second World War. Applications for commemorative medallions remain open to any individuals who made an contribution to the war effort and can be made via b.ward@legionscotland.org.uk
Social care workers, people over 55 and household members of those who are shielding will all be eligible for the free seasonal flu vaccine. The Scottish Government will look to extend to those aged 50-54, if vaccine supplies allow.
This winter, to protect those most at risk from concurrent infection of COVID-19 and flu, the government is expanding the vaccination programme to new groups and increasing capacity to vaccinate more people than ever before.
Groups who will continue to be eligible for the free flu vaccine include: those aged 65 and over, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, children aged between two and five, primary school children, health care workers and young and unpaid carers.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The seasonal flu vaccination programme helps to protect the most vulnerable and alleviate pressure on the NHS. This will be more important than ever this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That’s why this flu season, we are extending free eligibility to social care workers who provide direct care, household members of individuals who are shielding, all those aged 55 and over, and those aged 50-54 if vaccine supplies allow.
“We want to reassure those who may now feel anxious about leaving home to get vaccinated. Getting the seasonal flu vaccine, especially when you have free eligibility, is one of the ways that you can support the NHS whilst protecting yourself and others this winter.
“If you think you are eligible for the vaccine, please visit NHS Inform, and if you receive a letter inviting you to get a vaccine, please follow the instructions.”
Interim Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith said: “Social care workers often come into contact with those most vulnerable to the seasonal flu, and vaccinating them will help to protect them whilst also providing indirect protection to the people they care for.
“Individuals who are shielding have already been identified as being at a high risk from COVID-19, and this risk is heightened should they contract the virus and seasonal flu at the same time.
“Similarly, vaccinating 55-64 year olds – as well as those aged 50-54 if vaccine supplies allow – will help to protect an age group who are vulnerable to both COVID-19 and the seasonal flu, helping to lower the risk of people getting concurrent cases of both viruses.
Karen Hedge, National Director at Scottish Care said: “Scottish Care welcomes the announcement that social care workers will be able to access free flu jabs.
“This is something we have been in dialogue with the Scottish Government about for some time, and we consider this move to be a real step forward in recognising the critical role of skilled and valuable care staff, protecting both them and also those they support.”
