Alness and Invergordon at heart of one of the Highlands' Covid hotspots – with 102 cases between them and an infection rate much higher than Scotland's average
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ALMOST a fifth of all recent Covid infections in the Highlands are concentrated in the neighbouring Easter Ross towns of Alness and Invergordon.
The two communities had more than 100 confirmed infections between them in the seven days leading up to January 5 – with 72 in Alness and 30 in Invergordon. The whole of Highland had 568 cases over the same time period – meaning the two towns had nearly 18 per cent of the region's overall total.
Indeed, Alness is the worst affected hotspot in the entire Highland Council area – with a seven-day infection rate of 1219.5 cases for every 100,000 people.
To put that in perspective, the current Highland rate is 240.9 – and Scotland’s is 297.4.
Invergordon’s over the same seven day period was 679.3 infections per 100,000 people.
Ross and Cromarty as a whole had 216 known infections in the seven days leading up to January 5, giving the area an infection rate of 374.9 cases per 100,000 – up from the rate of 319 recorded yesterday.
However, the outbreak is not evenly spread in the county, which has a distinct east-west split.
The next worst affected Ross community is Dingwall, with 23 infections over the most recent seven day period.
The figures were released through Public Health Scotland's online Covid map.
Related news: Ross and Cromarty's Covid-19 coronavirus rises to 319 cases per 100,000 people
