TRADERS on the normally bustling Gorgie Road looked out on to an all but deserted parade yesterday after business had plummeted by more than half since the Legionnaires' outbreak.
The shock fall came after the Scottish Government confirmed the disease's deadly droplets had been released into the atmosphere above the streets surrounding the building site where labourer Robert Air, its first victim, had worked.
Ashley McGregor, 21, manager of The Wee Shop in Gorgie Road, which is directly across from the building site, said: "I've never seen Gorgie so quiet in my life.
"I knew him but not by name, they all come in here. I would say my business was down by more than half.
"There was nobody on the street.
"The paper said he had underlying health problems, but when I was speaking to the workmen they were saying he was a really healthy guy.
"They said he hadn't been well for a few days and some of them were tested for signs yesterday.
"They all had masks over their faces yesterday but none of them were wearing them today.
"He was only in his 50s, he was not old. It's a shame."
A worker at a nearby site, who asked not to be named, said: "I had no idea it [Legionella bacteria] had been pouring into the air.
"I thought it was in the coolers in the buildings."
One man who fits the high risk category said yesterday he believed more information should have been made available to the public sooner.
William Annandale, 58, of Dalry, who has a lung condition, said it was also concerning more new cases may emerge.
He said: "It's a worry. I've got chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and use an inhaler."
A nearby resident added: "It's what they're not telling us, that's the thing."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article