London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Sturgeon & nationalists scolded as WHO data show almost half of Europe’s most Covid-infested areas are in Scotland

Sturgeon & nationalists scolded as WHO data show almost half of Europe’s most Covid-infested areas are in Scotland

The latest data from the World Health Organization has put Scotland’s health boards at the top of the charts for Covid-19 prevalence, and not for the first time, as many complain the SNP’s pandemic masterplan has been a failure.

On Wednesday, data from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covid-19 “subnational explorer” show that 9 Scottish health boards feature in the top 20 areas of Europe where the virus has been most prevalent over the last seven days.

The WHO’s tracker puts Lanarkshire in the top spot, having registered 1,135 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days. Scotland’s most populous city, Glasgow, was in second place. Other Scottish cities and districts featured on the list include Fife, Lothian, Ayrshire and Arran and the Forth Valley, among others. Other places currently on the list include Almaty City in Kazakhstan and the country of Georgia.

According to the Times on Thursday morning, three hospitals in Lanarkshire have recorded bed occupancy levels of over 90%. Wishaw General reached 94% occupancy earlier this week.

While Scotland’s current misfortune is particularly grave, the apparent failure of the country’s nationalist government to control the pandemic has engendered a flurry of criticism, particularly as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made it very clear she wanted to do things differently from England.

The statistics, published by the WHO and covered in the Times, were also shared on Twitter by GB News chairman Andrew Neil on Thursday, triggering fierce debate among social media users, with many keen to lay the blame firmly on Sturgeon.

“Perhaps many in the media can now stop eulogising and perpetuating the myth that St. Nicola has handled the pandemic well,” a person wrote on Twitter, claiming she was obsessed with doing things differently to England, even if it was going to be less effective.

Others took the same view, questioning why the Scottish National Party thought it necessary to “tartanise their COVID strategy” and do things differently to the rest of the UK. “They have failed,” they added, asking whether this would come up in Scotland’s independent review of the pandemic.

Another concurred, writing that if anyone thinks Sturgeon has been successful in managing the pandemic, they need to wake up and “smell the coffee.” Doctor Renee Hoenderkamp also chimed in, writing, “their lockdowns and mask obsession working well then,” referencing the harsher restrictions imposed north of the border.

Others asked if England would close the borders to Scotland, a reference to Sturgeon’s decision to impose restrictions on movement into the country earlier in the year, including a heavily criticized travel ban on people from Manchester.

“The cure… is independence. As it is for everything else here,” one person jibed. Others also suggested the SNP would somehow blame the union. “The real virus in Scotland is Nationalism,” another insisted.


Some people were quick to defend the SNP amid a flurry of comments condemning the nationalists. Several said England will see a similar level of cases soon when children go back to school, while another claimed the figures were just an attempt to deflect criticism from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Children in Scotland have already returned to class.

Others blamed it on tourism, claiming there had been a great holiday season in Scotland and that it was well managed in terms of Covid-19 restrictions.

This is not the first time Scotland has topped the European list for Covid-19 prevalence. In July, half of the top-10 spots were occupied by places in Scotland.

Throughout the pandemic Sturgeon has elected to do things differently to the rest of the UK, locking down and opening up at different times as well as adopting different travel guidance.

On Wednesday, Sturgeon said that the SNP will hold a vote to approve the implementation of vaccine passports at nightclubs, adult venues and indoor events with more than 500 attendees, outdoor events with at least 4,000 in the audience, and any event with over 10,000 people.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×