An outbreak of cases in the Jedburgh area in the Scottish Borders has prompted NHS Borders to make a plea for "vigilance".
Health officials have said it is crucial in order to limit the spread of the "highly contagious" virus.
A total of 17 cases has been identified so far in and around the Jedburgh area, which are associated with family groups and home care services provided by SB Cares - but not all cases are residents in the town.
According to health officials, NHS Borders’ Health Protection team, supported by Scottish Borders Council, is currently dealing with the outbreak and members of the Test and Protect team are currently contacting the people who have received a positive test result, and their close contacts.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Scots Bishop calls for Christmas Covid restrictions amnesty
Tim Patterson, Director of Public Health, said: “Whilst the level of COVID-19 infections in the Borders remains low compared to other areas, it is still essential that everyone remains vigilant for the symptoms of COVID-19 and follows the Scottish Government guidance and public health advice available at NHS Inform.
“If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, which are a new continuous cough, a fever/high temperature (37.8C or greater) and /or a loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste you should self-isolate immediately and visit NHS Inform or phone 0800 028 2816 to book a test.
"A new continuous cough is defined as if you are coughing a lot for more than 1 hour, or you have been coughing three or more times in 24 hours. If you normally have a cough, it may be worse than usual.
“Whilst you wait for your test all of your household members must self-isolate. This is really important to prevent potential spread of this highly contagious virus.”
Jen Holland, Chief Operating Officer of SB Cares, said: “We have contingency plans in place to ensure that our ongoing service provision to clients in Jedburgh is maintained and that we can continue to safely support all of our clients.”
You can book a test either by going online to www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or calling 0800 028 2816. Whilst you wait for your test all of your household members should self-isolate.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel