Hospital cases in Forth Valley reached the highest peak at any point in the pandemic this week.
The latest data from public health chiefs has revealed that Forth Valley registered a total of 159 people in hospital with confirmed Covid-19 on Monday - more than double the highest rate seen during the entire first wave.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday that the NHS remains under “severe pressure” adding that it is “far too early” to think about easing restrictions.
Intensive care patients in the region reached a record high rate earlier this month, with the ten patients undergoing serious treatment on January 1 beating the previous milestone point of nine patients on April 12, 2020.
The 155 patients currently in hospital in the region with recently confirmed Covid-19 puts Forth Valley with the fourth-highest rate across the whole of Scotland - with only Ayrshire and Arran, Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow and Clyde recording higher numbers in hospital.
Hospital chiefs insisted last week that Forth Valley Royal remains “very busy” with both Covid and non-Covid related admissions, as well as other serious health conditions and have urged locals to stick with current guidelines.
Forth Valley also tops the figures in terms of the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of population for the last week, with a total of 210.4 cases.
Falkirk and Clackmannanshire are the two highest local authority areas in that measure, reporting 249.2 and 205.7 cases per 100,000 respectively, with Stirling having the tenth-highest proportional case numbers at 146.5.
A further ten positive cases were recorded in Stirling on Sunday, taking the total number over the week to 133.
