At least 42 Covid-19 cases detected Ross and Cromarty in seven days up to Boxing Day; Public Health Scotland map also shows Highland Council region's infection rate hit 56.4 cases per 100,000 people – the area's highest confirmed level of infection over the course of the entire coronavirus pandemic to date
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THE confirmed Covid-19 infection rate across Highland Council has climbed to its highest level since the start of the pandemic, Public Health Scotland figures have revealed.
The council area’s coronavirus rate climbed to 56.4 confirmed infections per 100,000 people in the seven days leading up to Boxing Day – the date for which the most recent figures have been released.
To put that into context, Public Health Scotland’s Covid-19 map website has typically shown rates of between 15 and 25 cases per 100,000 across Highland Council in recent months.
And, at the end of November, the rate was as low as 12.3 per 100,000 – before its December surge.
What’s more, with authorities and health experts expecting case numbers to increase nationally in the wake of Christmas Day gatherings, there are fears the current rate could climb still further.
The council-wide figure comes as at least 42 confirmed cases were reported across Ross and Cromarty alone.
In the seven days leading up to Boxing Day, there were 133 cases across the Highland Council area, with 42 in wards within the Ross & Cromarty area.
And, with figures suppressed in wards with between zero and two infections – in order to protect patient anonymity – the real figure could be as high as 58.
The shock figures come less than 24 hours after NHS Highland warned the public to stick to coronavirus rules, after it saw confirmed case numbers “treble” in the space of a few days.
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