Tag: coronavirus

Protect your passwords, protect your business

Businesses and projects in Edinburgh are being advised to put in place stricter rules around passwords to protect staff and systems, as the country switches to home-working amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Following UK Government advice for businesses to work from home where possible, due to the rise in cases of COVID-19, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) is warning employers how this can increase an organisation’s vulnerability to cyber-attacks.

This was demonstrated just weeks into the COVID-19 outbreak, with scammers already capitalising on fear and system frailties, and scams relating to the virus costing UK businesses nearly £970,000.

SBRC is advising businesses to quickly and easily increase their security by using password manager software and implementing a two-factor authentication.

Declan Doyle, Ethical Hacking Consultant at SBRC, said: “We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of phishing scams since the outbreak of the virus – including fraudulent emails targeting businesses about fake Government tax rebates and Coronavirus funding.

“Criminals are very smart, and as much as we can find, identify and shut down scams, the best course of action is to tell people what to look out for and give them advice to follow to minimise the risk of falling victim to these traps. Increasing your online security is one way to do this.”

Eamonn Keane, Chief Operating Officer for Cyber and Innovation at SBRC, said: “The last thing any business battling the impact of coronavirus needs right now is a crippling cyber-attack.

“The prospect of thousands of temporary home workers, potentially accessing a range of vital business servers and applications from vulnerable home internet connections, or using old or inadequate laptops or PCs, is a scary one.

“One of the easiest ways for businesses to avoid cyber-attacks is to set up a password manager to secure, store and generate passwords for your team which can be accessed across various devices.

“Attackers use different techniques beyond hacking to discover passwords, including phishing, automated guessing using the most commonly-used passwords, manual guessing and intercepting networks. Password managers and two-factor authentication can easily put a stop to a lot of these tactics.”

Andy Maclaren, Head of IT Services at SBRC partner, Consider IT, said: “Password managers typically generate a long, secure and unique password for each website a user logs into, avoiding reusing passwords across different websites.

“This way, if a particular website’s database is hacked or leaked, attackers won’t be able to use the same log in details to access all of the other services your email address has signed up to.”

Two-factor authentication asks users for their password as normal, but also asks users to provide a second piece of information such as a code sent to an email address, or a fingerprint scan on a phone.

Eamonn added: “Two-factor authentication is just another way of ‘double-checking’ you are who you’re claiming to be when you’re logging into business accounts – meaning even if someone hacks or gains access to your password, they won’t necessarily be able to access your accounts.

“At SBRC, we endeavour to maintain Scotland’s reputation as a safe place to do business, so we will do everything we can to keep our partners, members and the public as up to date as possible in these uncertain and ever-changing times.”

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre is a non-profit organisation which exists to support and help protect Scottish Businesses.

To ensure Scotland remains a safe place to live, work and do business, SBRC will be regularly sharing COVID-19 developments and advice from Scottish Government, their partners and members as they happen.

Over the coming weeks SBRC will be holding a series of 60-minute webinars aimed at helping Scottish businesses prepare and survive the human and commercial impacts of COVID-19.

SBRC maintains a unique connection to Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Scottish Government, which gives the organisation exclusive access to the latest information to advise citizens and businesses how to interact safely.

Employers can also reach SBRC by emailing enquiries@sbrcentre.co.uk.

Drylaw food donations urgently needed

Drylaw Rainbow Club Day Centre is looking for donations of stock for it’s community food bank.

They are particularly short of tinned meats and potatoes but all donations would be gratefully received.

The goods are used to make up food and essential groceries packs that are being distributed to elderly, vulnerable and isolated residents across the area.

You can drop off at Drylaw Church on Groathill Road North between 10am-2pm.

If you know anyone in Drylaw or Telford who needs help, telephone 0131 343 6643 to talk to a member of staff or leave a message and we will get back to you.

 

Student nurses step up to join coronavirus workforce

Thousands offer their skills to support response

More than 2,000 final year nursing and midwifery students have stepped forward to join the NHS Scotland workforce during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has praised the commitment and enthusiasm of those who are taking on frontline roles early, ahead of formally joining the workforce at the end of August.

So far around 12,000 students and returners from health and social care have come forward to offer their skills and expertise during the pandemic.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We are asking a lot of nursing and midwifery students to step up at this unprecedented time when they have already experienced significant disruption as they come to the end of their courses. Their skills and experience will be vital in the coming months as we work to save as many lives as possible.

“Our response to the COVID-19 outbreak is going to require a huge effort across all areas of health and social care. It is still possible for others to offer their support, and if they are willing and able I would encourage them to do so.

“The commitment and enthusiasm of these volunteers, as with all of our NHS workers, deserves recognition and the gratitude of every one of us in Scotland.”

Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen said: “I want to thank each and every student who has volunteered their support so far. The response we have received shows the incredible spirit of our future NHS workforce – your dedication is truly inspirational.”

Adam McVey: I’ve never been prouder

My street, like most, has been out applauding the efforts of those frontline NHS workers fighting the virus that has temporarily changed the way we live our lives (writes city council leader Councillor ADAM McVEY).

The gratitude and thanks to our doctors, nurses and other NHS staff is universal. It’s been inspiring to see the community spirit in these unprecedented times. It’s not just our collective applauding but the willingness of so many of our citizens to roll up their sleeves and volunteer to help those in our community in need.

Thousands of Edinburghers have signed up through readyscotland.org and volunteeredinburgh.org.uk to help make and deliver food or pick up prescriptions for those who can’t access themselves to help our City with in this enormous effort to keep all of us safe. Thank you to everyone who is putting their community and City first by doing what help they can.

Just as important as what we’re doing is what we’re not doing. For now some of our liberties have been curtailed, we’ve been asked to avoid contact with our loved ones, avoid travel and to change how we do everything like the way we work. The advice from the experts is that by staying at home we can reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.

Pictures of Princes Street, Royal Mile, Leith Walk, Dalry Road- all usually bustling with people – are empty. It’s a strong sign that we’re all listening to the message. So, to all of us who are giving up so much of what we would normally do and staying indoors, thank you.

As well as the community response, the public, private sector and third sector response has been heartening too.

Every part of the City has worked quickly to help the most vulnerable in our City and collaboration between organisations has been more than ever before.

Government and Council working with organisations like streetwork to fund and deliver safe places in our hotels for people experiencing homelessness is just one example of hundreds of the kind of coming together and “get things done” attitude which has been so important in acting swiftly to protect our more vulnerable citizens.

This too has also been about what hasn’t happened as much as what is happening. The businesses that have closed have done so knowing it will cause them serious issues. Indeed, our summer festivals have postponed until 2021 with huge impacts for our City as yet undetermined.

Thank you to the organisations who have thrown themselves feet first into solving these mammoth challenges and those who have taken bold decisions to help keep us safe. 

The Council will keep you as best informed as we can on our dedicated COVID-19 webpage, which you can access from the Council’s homepage. It has information for businesses, parents, high risk residents and information on key services which are subject to change.

Our effort as a Council has been to try and sustain as many of our core functions as possible but it hasn’t been easy. Staff numbers are down across the board due to many reasons attached to COVID-19 and it’s meant having to make changes and service reductions in areas like waste as well as the many public service we’ve had to suspend altogether.

Thank you to the people of Edinburgh for their understanding as we try our best to keep delivering for you.

I want to save my last thank you for the Council staff. It’s hard to put into words the dedication our Council officers have shown over the last few weeks but it has epitomised public service.

Our City would simply not be able to function without them. Those who have worked long days without taking a day off to make sure our City planned properly for everything we needed.

Those who are out day after day doing their jobs in essential services to keep green spaces open for our daily exercise, our bins emptied or key buildings cleaned and open. I’ve never been prouder of Edinburgh Council and I hope the City joins me in thanking our staff for all they are doing for us.

This article first published in Monday’s Edinburgh Evening News

More funding for our frontline pharmacies

Additional funding of £5.5 million will be provided to community pharmacies to help them cope with increased pressures from coronavirus.

Pharmacy workloads almost doubled during March – with increased prescriptions, staff overtime and a higher level of consultations all resulting in additional costs for the service.

The additional funding will be added to the network’s March payments.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “I want to thank all community pharmacy teams for their incredible hard work throughout this pandemic. They are doing an invaluable job to ensure people continue to receive vital medicines and care through this period of unprecedented challenge for the NHS.

“Given the exceptional situation we are in, I have taken the unusual step of asking community pharmacies to remain open on Good Friday and Easter Monday – where it is possible to do so. This will help to alleviate some pressure from out-of-hours services.

“Working with the Community Pharmacy Scotland we have agreed this initial package of additional funding for community pharmacies to help them meet some of the costs of responding to COVID-19 and to allow them to continue to meet the increased demand on their crucial services.”

The additional funding is intended to help with costs including:

• additional staff hours and locum costs
• the increased amount of medicine prescriptions
• modifications to premises such as installation of protective screens
• additional cleaning costs
• increased phone consultations

Last month it was announced that community pharmacists would perform an enhanced role during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Free pet boarding at LOVE Gorgie Farm during coronavirus crisis

LOVE Gorgie Farm is offering free small pet boarding services to aid all those pet owners who are unwell or need to be admitted into the hospital.

By taking care of the animals free of charge, the beloved urban farm intends to help to those who are unwell or have to be temporarily admitted into the hospital to focus on their health and eliminate any extra stress that having to look after pets may cause.

Although donations are welcomed, LOVE Gorgie Farm will not be charging for pet boarding services during the coronavirus crisis and owners will only have to cover food costs.

Animals eligible for these services will be rabbits and guinea pigs, rodents, reptiles caged birds and poultry.

The farm currently operates as a foodbank for the most vulnerable and delivers free breakfast every morning to the children of the community now that schools are closed.

However, its team is still working behind closed doors in maintaining the site and taking care of the animals.

Following the Government’s advice, LOVE Gorgie Farm decided to temporarily close its doors amid the coronavirus outbreak only after reopening to the public at the end of February.

Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE Learning, the education and social care charity operating LOVE Gorgie Farm, said: “We understand how stressful it can be to feel like you are neglecting your pets when you can not give them the love and attention that they deserve. However, those feeling unwell during this pandemic must focus their energy on their health and on getting better.

“That’s why if you are sick during these critical times, we want to help take some of this stress away by providing an environment full of love and care to your pet whilst you focus on your own recovery.”

Those wanting to get in touch with the farm should contact gorgie@l-o-v-e.org.uk

NHS Lothian sets up staff testing centre at Chalmers Centre

NHS Lothian has transformed one of its health centres into a mass drive-through staff COVID-19 testing centre.

Every day, scores of NHS Lothian staff are being tested in their cars at the Chalmers Sexual Health Centre in Edinburgh, in a bid to reduce unnecessary absence and bolster frontline services.

To date, 670 staff, including doctors and nurses and their household contacts, have attended appointments at the testing station to be swabbed for the virus.

If they have symptoms and are tested within the first 72 hours, a negative result, can end family or self-isolation and allow a return to work if they are well. This is even more valuable to staff who are self-isolating for 14 days because of household contacts who may have symptoms.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said up to 160 staff have been tested in a day and of those around 86 per cent had already tested negative for COVID-19.

She added: “Providing access to staff testing is critical. It not only gives our colleagues reassurance, but enables staff, if they feel well enough, to return to work.

“Across NHS Lothian, we have seen fantastic cooperation, flexibility and willingness from all our teams, and this staff testing facility really does encapsulate that. Every single member of staff is doing their bit and for that, I would like to say a huge thank you.”

Regular services at Chalmers have been greatly reduced over recent days and weeks, and as a result, has meant that the centre had quiet areas, with many members of staff who could be re-deployed into different roles.

A massive operation swung into force and the area was quickly transformed into a mass testing centre, with a team of dedicated and expert staff, capable of carrying out hundreds of tests every week and returning results by text message within 48 hours.

Dr Alastair Leckie, Director of Occupational Health Services, NHS Lothian, said the teams drew on the experience and expertise gained from drive-through patient testing which was created out of the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit at the Western General Hospital during the early days of the pandemic.

He said: “The experience we gained from our drive-through patient testing has been invaluable. It helped us to know what was needed to run the service, but crucially how we could make it bigger.

“Our staff have told us time and time again that they want to be at work, helping patients and supporting colleagues. Testing provides reassurance for staff, helping to get them back to work quicker, and reducing unnecessary periods of self-isolation.

“A monumental amount of work has taken place in a very short period of time to provide this service and we are incredibly pleased and proud to see it working. Already we are looking at how we can roll this model out to other locations.”

Staff are told to report symptoms as soon as they first appear and are given an appointment at the testing centre within 72 hours.

They drive to the testing centre in the city centre and follow the signs into the facility, which is based in the car park. They are called forward in turn and a member of the team, in protective clothing, approaches their car. A mouth swab is taken and the staff member is told to drive home.

Dr Dan Clutterbuck, Consultant in Sexual Health Medicine, NHS Lothian, said: “The Sexual Health team are well used to carrying out high volume testing, and I am delighted that we could use these skills, experience and expertise to scale up our staff testing service.

“The model we have developed here is easily replicated, and our team are working with others across the organisation to enable this to happen.”

Extra support for people affected by drug and alcohol use

Extra support for people affected by alcohol and drug use during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been announced by the Minister for Public Health Joe FitzPatrick.

Funding of £166,000 from the Scottish Government will support:

• a programme to increase access to naloxone in new settings, including investment in kits to add to the existing outlets for naloxone supply
• increased capacity within the Know the Score helpline and webchat service
• a COVID-19 publicity campaign signposting support for alcohol and drug users during the pandemic
• funding to link people with others in recovery through the Scottish Recovery Consortium

Help will also be available for those affected by another’s alcohol and drug use through the Supporting Families Fund. This includes a discretionary emergency fund for families, online wellbeing activities, family meals, wellbeing packs and counselling support.

Mr FitzPatrick said: “Responding to the coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime and it will disrupt so many lives like never before. Protecting and supporting everyone during these unprecedented times is our priority.

“We’ve worked closely with organisations on the frontline to create this package of measures to ensure we continue to support those affected by alcohol and drug use.

“By working together and observing the latest guidance, we can all play our part in keeping everyone safe.”

Emergency help for those worse affected by coronavirus

People most at risk from the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak are to receive further support following emergency investment in crucial services.

Charities Scottish Women’s Aid, Social Bite (above) and other key partners will share up to £8 million to provide an emergency response and ensure services can react to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Disadvantaged groups facing hardships such as homelessness, food insecurity or social isolation and loneliness are among those to benefit from services such as:

• emergency accommodation in Glasgow and Edinburgh
• the provision of food and essential supplies to vulnerable groups in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen
• public health information translated into British Sign Language (BSL) and the creation of an easy, one-stop shop approach for BSL users
• online and telephone support for both older people and young people, and more isolated members of the LGBT community, to improve mental resilience and wellbeing

This investment is part of the Scottish Government’s wider £350 million Communities Funding to help those most affected by the pandemic.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We are facing an unprecedented situation that requires a practical response – at scale and pace – to help people most at risk in our community. We must do all that we can to protect the health, welfare and wellbeing of the people of Scotland.

“These significant national investments are helping to strengthen the support available to individuals and ensuring that key services are available for those most in need.

“We are continuing to work with partners, including community organisations to ensure funding reaches those best placed to provide support.”

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) receives an award of £3 million. SCVO Chief Executive Anna Fowlie said: “I am delighted that Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, and her colleagues in Scottish Government have listened to the voices from the voluntary sector looking for urgent support at this time of unprecedented uncertainty.

“The measures announced today will go a long way to helping voluntary organisations through the immediate pressures, which of course means that they can continue to rise to the challenge of supporting people and communities across the country.”

Scottish Women’s Aid has been allocated £1.35 million and there’s over £226,000 for Rape Crisis Scotland. The Child Poverty Action Group is awarded £105,000.

The £350 million Communities Funding was announced by Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell on 18 March 2020.

Since it was announced more than £100 million of new support has been delivered to local authorities to assist their efforts. This includes £50 million in hardship funding, £22 million to bolster the Scottish Welfare Fund, and £30 million from the Food Fund.

An additional £23 million is held in reserve for the Scottish Welfare Fund and will be targeted to where it is most needed. £50 million is also in reserve to meet increased demand for Scottish Social Security and support through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

The Third Sector Resilience Fund, worth £20 million, launched on the 25th of March.

The full list of the projects to be awarded a share of the funding is:

Organisation Amount Brief outline of project
Young Scot £46,992 Young Scot will deliver Covid-19 information and social media support for young people.
Who Cares? £175,132 Support for the Care Experienced Community.
British Deaf Association Scotland £26,212.50 Public health information to be translated into British Sign Language (BSL) and for there to be an easy, one-stop shop approach for BSL users to find official information
Scottish Women’s Aid £1,350,000 Deliver increased provision of support
Rape Crisis Scotland £226,309 Deliver increased provision of support
Child Poverty Action Group £104,877 Ensure the most up to date advice and support is disseminated to advisors to support families in need through increasing staffing levels; provision of IT equipment to facilitate the move to home provision of support; development and delivery of webinars to a group of front line advisors; subscription costs, development of benefit advice bulletins and increased advice line capacity.
One Parent Families Scotland £100,000 Deliver increased provision of support
Simon Community £296,000 Securing emergency accommodation in Glasgow and Edinburgh to support vulnerable people through the COVID 19 Crisis. Their actual funding proposal shows this is for two months
Simon Community £21,290 Extra accommodation in Edinburgh
Glasgow Night Shelter £153,500 Destitute Asylum Seekers – Emergency accommodation response for destitute asylum seekers
Age Scotland £80,000 Helpline costs
Gypsy/Travellers – Various Partners £73,600 Deliver increased provision of support
LGBT Health and Wellbeing £10,000 Provide telephone support to more isolated members of the LGBT community, with a particular focus on older LGBT people and those experiencing digital exclusion, and expand their LGBT Helpline Scotland from 2 to 4 days per week.
LGBT Youth Scotland £41,500 To improve support for the LGBTI community in Scotland, particularly those aged 13-25, throughout Covid-19 through accelerating development of a Digital Youth Work platform, including learning hub to offer improved support, help them develop greater resilience in relation to their mental health and in time, new skills and strengths.
BEMIS £56,100 To provide access to essential food to diverse minority ethnic communities across Scotland through a network of organisations via a Small Grant Sustenance Fund and emergency grant relief to individuals and families or those supporting them directly such as foodbanks.
Befriending Network £6,333 Additional staff costs to support befriending organisations
Glasgow Disability Alliance £85,800 Additional staff costs for telephony and online support
Equality Network £3,932.82 To provide Zoom accounts to allow regional LGBT groups to stay in contact, many of whom have members who are socially isolated for a number of reasons
SCoJeC £4,650 The proposal has 3 parts: 1. Connecting with Jewish Communities (£2,750), 2. Crisis Hardship Fund (£2,000) and 3. Providing food packages urgently for Passover (£1,900) totalling £6,650.
DeafBlind Scotland £30,000 To produce information in Braille, Moon, XXL print, BSL videos or audio CDs; increase access to advocacy and advice staff to help people understand what support is available to access grants and support; and to increase home visits for Deafblind people who don’t have self-directed support.
Social Bite £500,000 The provision of food and essential supplies to vulnerable groups in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen through the Covid-19 crisis
FareShare £500,000 To purchase and distribute ambient food
Cash For Kids £500,000 To give vouchers/cards to families for essential items including food and fuel
Food Train £241,515 To respond to the increased demand for older people seeking home delivery of food
Coalition with support from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Up to £3,000,000 The Scottish Government is working with SCVO as part of a coalition programme to ensure funding gets to community groups
Intercultural Youth Scotland £22,296 Provides for a range of activity to support young minority ethnic people, particularly around mental health support and careers support
Barnardo’s £178,000 To provide direct support to 2,100 children, young people and families with an estimated distribution of £23k per week, plus £40k across the period to support capital spend (e.g. laptops/phones/activity packs to support school work and reduce social isolation). Barnardos’ is working with Action for Children to ensure a cohesive approach is taken across Scotland.
Action for Children £202,000 To support over 20,000 children and young people, including disabled children, care experienced young people, and young carers, and their families, through a two-tier response: i. Welfare Response and Emergency Fund which will distribute funding support to young people and families and ii. Wellbeing Response and Safeguarding Capacity which will increase the organisation’s capacity to protect children, young people and families at greatest risk who may be more isolated than ever due to the current situation.

Total: £8,036,039.32

Boris Johnson in Intensive Care as his condition worsens

Downing Street issued the following statement last night:

Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary.

The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.

There has been no change to his condition overnight.

A further statement on the Prime Minister’s health is expected later today.