Convener makes ‘strongest possible’ plea over coronavirus

Shetland Islands Council convener Malcolm Bell has issued a plea for people to “take individual responsibility” to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Bell said individuals should be prepared to make “major changes” for the good of the wider community.

He said “This is now the period of rapid growth of the outbreak, and this is a plea to the Shetland community in the strongest possible terms to adhere to the very strong measures we must all take.

“This is a pandemic. We are now in extremely difficult times. Proper hygiene and social distancing is crucial. We must really assess what is essential, assess again, and assess once more.

“This requires major changes to our daily lives, and will impact on us severely.  This is no time for doing our normal activities. If we take individual responsibility we can flatten that curve, manage demand on our health services, and save lives. There is nothing more important than that.”