Cross-border coronavirus case cluster 'may not be the last'

Gretna was one of the areas affected by the cluster of cases

A health board which dealt with a cross-border coronavirus cluster has warned the public to "remain vigilant".

NHS Dumfries and Galloway said the outbreak around the Annan and Gretna areas "may not be the last".

The cluster affecting southern Scotland and northern England saw leisure travel restrictions maintained while efforts to control the situation continued.

They were lifted on Tuesday - about a week after the first cases in the cluster were confirmed.

The investigation into the outbreak across Dumfries and Galloway and Cumbria was announced on 1 July.

The health board confirmed there had been nine new cases in the area at the time and said they were all self-isolating while efforts continued to identify recent contacts.

The health board said it was "extremely grateful" to its test and protect team

The last positive cases in the region prior to that had been recorded on 22 June.

The number of cases in the cluster rose to 12, with 23 contacts self-isolating. Testing was also carried out as a precaution at factories in the area.

It meant that the five mile leisure travel restriction which was lifted for the rest of Scotland on 3 July was not removed in parts of Dumfries and Galloway until Tuesday.

The local health board's chief executive Jeff Ace said they were "extremely grateful" to everyone who had played a role in tackling the cluster.

He said they owed a "big debt of gratitude" to the area's test and protect team and other agencies in the region.

'Inconvenience and frustration'

"We owe a big thanks to everyone who followed the directions, and we appreciate how well they have approached a situation which may have caused inconvenience and frustration," he said.

"Particularly, however, we owe thanks to all those people who engaged so positively with our test and protect team, and who by self-isolating, undergoing tests or providing information were able to help limit the spread.

"Covid-19 is a highly transmissible disease, and anybody can potentially be affected - even with the best of preventative efforts."

He urged people to continue to follow guidance to help stop the spread of the "potentially devastating virus".

"This may not be the last time we're faced with a situation like this, and we must remain vigilant to the danger posed by Covid-19," he added.