A massive surge in coronavirus cases was recorded in Dumfries and Galloway over the festive period.
There were 2,825 new cases between Boxing Day and January 2, compared to 872 the week before, as the Omicron variant continues to run rampant across the region.
A resident at an Annan care home died after testing positive for Covid-19.
And the number of coronavirus cases among residents and staff at Annan Court has risen to 30.
Health officials said a “multi-disciplinary team” is providing support to the facility and also at Carlingwark House Care Home in Castle Douglas, where 17 positive Covid-19 cases have now been confirmed.
Public health director Valerie White yesterday reiterated the appeal to people across the region to make sure they are protected against coronavirus.
She said: “Getting fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is now essential, as we can see from the numbers how fast and wide this virus is spreading.
“We are now in a situation where we are very likely to encounter Covid-19 and we know that what provides the best level of defence and the best protection against hospitalisation is being as fully vaccinated as possible.”
Additional robust infection control measures have been put in place at the Annan and Castle Douglas homes along with increased testing and an enhanced decontamination schedule.
Admissions and transfers were suspended at both facilities on Monday.
Following the death of the Annan resident, a spokesman for Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Our thoughts are with the residents and staff at the care home during this difficult time.”
He said they have been working in close partnership with the operators of Annan Court and Carlingwark House to ensure “all necessary plans and protocols are in place to manage the outbreak” and acknowledged that “the operators of these care homes have been faced with a challenging and difficult situation, but full credit is due to them and their very dedicated staff for the responses that have been mounted”.
South Scotland MSP, Colin Smyth, said: “There is growing frustration over the Scottish Government’s handling of the latest wave. There is no explanation why it took them much longer than every other part of the UK to work out that self-isolating could have been less than 10 days and people are still having difficulty booking PCR tests and getting LFT tests online.”
