Coronavirus in Scotland: Move to level three is a ‘stark warning’ for Fife, says NHS chair

Nicola Sturgeon announced today that as of Friday this week, Fife will be moved into level three lockdown after cases per 100,000 of its population increased by 40% in the past seven days.

Discussing what the new move into an increased lockdown level means for Fife, NHS Fife’s Tricia Marwick said: "This move from level two to three is a stark warning to us all.

"I am therefore asking all Fifers to adhere to the level three measures to help drive down the transmission rate and avoid any further restrictions being placed on our communities. NHS Fife is jointly working with its partners to support the combined effort to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.

"It is vital that we now act quickly and decisively to suppress the transmission rate of the virus across Fife, to save lives and protect frontline services.

“Following advice from Fife’s Director of Public Health and discussions with Fife council leaders, the National Scottish Incident Management Team (IMT) made a recommendation to the Scottish government to move Fife to level three.”

Ms Marwick commented that she hopes the level three measures which she claimed ‘show some impact’ in the central belt will also have the same effect on Fife.

NHS Fife said that they will continue to monitor the Coronavirus situation in Fife with the Scottish Government and review the decision again regularly.

David Alexander and David Ross, co-leaders of Fife Council issued a joint statement today, saying the decision ‘was not what we were hoping for’ however noted that it had been ‘based on facts.’

They added: “The number of cases in Fife is increasing, and we have to make sure that we all work together to prevent this situation becoming any worse for Fifers. The time to act is now.

"We're urging everyone to follow the public health guidance to help reduce the spread of the virus and reduce the need for any further restrictions.

“And remember, if you need support, help is available.”

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