No increase in COVID-19 figures

The number of COVID-19 cases in Orkney stands at 15 today, according to figures released by the Scottish Government this afternoon.

Six cases have been linked to an Orkney fishing boat in recent days.

The sixth case — the county’s 15th since the start of the pandemic — was confirmed by NHS Orkney on Friday afternoon after the publication of that day’s Scottish Government figures. Accounting for this delay in reporting, there has been no increase in the number of cases today.

Contact tracing by three health boards, NHS Orkney, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland, have been working to establish close contacts of those positive cases and instruct people to self-isolate to break the chain of transmission.

It is understood a crewman on the trawler tested positive for the virus after visiting Aberdeen while the vessel was in Peterhead.

This visit, and the subsequent fishing trip the trawler undertook, happened in the weeks before a cluster was confirmed in Aberdeen, and lockdown restrictions were re-imposed.