Call for funding package and increased testing in Inverclyde

Calls are being made for a special funding package and localised community testing to combat coronavirus in Inverclyde, which has become the COVID-19 capital of Scotland. Inverclyde, the most deprived area of Scotland, has the highest death rate in the country due to Coronavirus according to the latest National Records of Scotland statistics.The local authority area had 120 deaths per 100,000 people – nearly three times that of people in the least deprived areas, with the death rate 50 in neighbouring East Renfrewshire and 43 in East Dunbartonshire. The figures are twice that of Glasgow (59), which has the fourth-highest number of deaths, and well above West Dunbartonshire with the second-highest total (79).The findings have lead to calls for a targeted package of support for the most vulnerable as well as increased testing to within the community in order that people that have come into contact with those testing positive for COVID-19 can be traced and then isolated to avoid the spread of the virus. Chirs McEleny, the SNP’s leader in the local authority area, has said that unless a system to allow testing within the community is implemented, uptake for testing will remain low and the virus will take longer to eradicate.In January of this year, in the updated Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) – a measure considering seven criteria including income and health – parts of Greenock town centre were ranked the most deprived area in Scotland, with Inverclyde being ranked the most deprived area in the country. Mr McEleny says that the latest figures released by NRS add weight to his calls for a special support package to be given to his area and other deprived communities across Scotland. # COVID-19# funding opportunity