East Ayrshire Council’s chief executive has marked the second anniversary of the Covid lockdown by remembering residents who died having caught the virus.
More than a third of East Ayrshire residents, around 43,000, have tested positive for Covid in the two years since the announcement of lockdown on March 23, 2020.
Local authority boss Eddie Fraser took time to remember the 355 people who died having tested positive for the virus.
He also warned that Covid continued to impact on the people of East Ayrshire, while praising the impact of a vaccination programme that has seen almost three-quarters of over 12s in the authority receiving three doses of the vaccine.
He said: ”I wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on what the impact has been for East Ayrshire and to record my admiration and thanks to our communities, our partners and our employees, for their courage, compassion and sacrifice, throughout these past two years.
“More than a third of East Ayrshire’s population, some 43,000 people, have tested positive for the virus since March 2020.
“Even now, Covid continues to be highly prevalent in our communities and in the last week alone, more than 2,700 positive tests were confirmed.
“Public services are still under enormous pressure, particularly in areas such as education, health and social care and in recent days, there has been a rise in the number of people in hospital testing positive for Covid.
“Since the start of the pandemic, 355 people who tested positive for the virus have sadly died in East Ayrshire, leaving behind friends and family who will forever feel their absence.
“The pandemic has claimed the lives of too many people and my heartfelt condolences go out to everyone who has lost loved ones to the virus and to other causes, during this time.
“Thankfully, the mass vaccination programme has weakened the link between infection and severe illness and this is making a huge difference to the impact of the current wave.
“The majority of restrictions have now been removed and it is likely that we will soon see the legal requirement for face coverings lifted too, but as life returns to ‘normal’, it is clear that things will never be quite the same again.”
He made it clear that the impact of Covid and other events would be felt for years to come, raising concerns about the increased cost of living for residents.
Mr Fraser concluded: “Our communities and the people we serve, will always be at the heart of everything we do and I want to put on record my sincere thanks, on behalf of the council, for your sacrifice and your patience.”
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