Nine in Orkney linked to new COVID cases

August 13, 2020 at 8:21 am

At least nine people in the Orkney community have been caught up in an emerging situation relating to a rising number of coronavirus cases in the county.

This is according to NHS Orkney chief executive, Michael Dickson, who spoke to The Orcadian, this morning, Thursday.

News broke, last night, that the health authority was growing increasingly concerned about a number of new cases which had been discovered in Orkney.

Mr Dickson, who said that he was “profoundly concerned” about this rapid increase in cases told the newspaper that a minimum of nine people were involved in this emerging situation, and that they were connected to a single workplace.

He explained that among these nine people, a number have already tested positive. It is understood that there may have been some contact between this group and other members of the community, and that contact tracers are currently working to identify anyone who may have come into contact with these individuals — and whether they could be linked to the Aberdeen cluster.

“If we can control this situation, we can avoid a situation like Aberdeen,” he said.

“I don’t think we are facing a cluster like that, but we need to do the right things and help protect ourselves and our loved ones.”

Mr Dickson advised that if anyone who was away from Orkney who planned to return home feels sick, or find themselves among others who are feeling unwell with coronavirus-like symptoms — they should not hesitate to contact NHS Orkney, ahead of their journey home.

“If you are sick and you are in the situation where you need to to travel to get on-island and home to you family, please speak to us. We can talk you through that and help you do that in a way that minimises the risk to the general public.”

The NHSO chief urged anyone who is experiencing coronavirus symptoms to come forward and book a test. He said that he would be giving a further update in the situation, later today, including more detail on the number of people who have tested positive for the virus.