Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has raised concerns about the high COVID-19 rates in West Dunbartonshire.

Figures published today show that in the week 24-30 July, West Dunbartonshire had the second highest COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 of the population – only Inverclyde had a higher rate. In the week ending 26 July, West Dunbartonshire had the highest case rate in Scotland with 234 cases per 100,000 people.

The figures show that there were 216.2 cases per 100,000 people in West Dunbartonshire between 24-30 July. This is much higher than the Scottish average figures of 147.7 cases per 100,000 people.

Jackie Baillie has raised concerns that the area is experiencing such high numbers of cases so close to local schools returning and with many under 30s still not fully vaccinated. She has called on the Scottish Government to act urgently to ensure that case numbers are supressed in advance of school restarting.

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“I understand that the majority of positive cases are in younger age groups which is a cause for real concern as these are the age groups who are less likely to be fully vaccinated which means a higher chance of them becoming ill.

“It is of the utmost importance that urgent action is taken to reduce this positivity rate. I am particularly worried that we are seeing such a resurgence in cases so close to schools returning this month. Ensuring the safety of pupils, parents and teachers must be the number one priority in the coming weeks.

“I am calling on the First Minister and her government to outline exactly how they plan to protect public health and to take active steps to reduce the number of cases locally.”