Today’s Dundee edition of The Courier leads with a warning that the city could end up back in Level 3 restrictions if coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Dundee City Council leader John Alexander made the warning after the number of reported coronavirus cases in Dundee more than doubled overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, from 14 to 30 people.
Covid situation could worsen
While Mr Alexander said he didn’t think at this point Dundee would be heading that way, he was mindful that it was a possibility should the situation continue to worsen – noting Glasgow and Moray were in Level 3.
He said: “If the figures keep going the way they’re going, it will be us, in a matter of a week or two.”
The Perth edition of the paper leads with the scandal that household rubbish more than half a century old is polluting a Perthshire river, despite an £80,000 scheme to contain it.
Toothpaste tube 60 years old
Otters and beavers are living alongside the waste at the River Ericht east of Blairgowrie. Workers buried the now-emerging rubbish in landfill by the river decades ago.
A toothpaste tube appearing to be around 60 years old is among debris found at what should be a beauty spot for anglers.
The source is a landfill site believed to have been used between the 1940s and 1970s.
‘Outrage forced Fife racist to move home’ is the headline on the front of the Fife edition.
Jordan McGhie, who uploaded a Snapchat post that mocked the death of George Floyd, was forced to move home because of the furious backlash to his actions
National fury at image
Convicted racist McGhie sparked national fury after uploading a picture that showed him kneeling on a friend’s neck, with the image captioned: “George Floyd Challenge 2020. Raise awareness.”
McGhie, 27, previously pled guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court to sharing the “grossly offensive, obscene or menacing” image on June 2 last year.
The court heard on Thursday how McGhie was forced to move home as a result of the angry reaction from the public.
In the Evening Telegraph, Dundee Sheriff Court heard how a woman was slashed and had a loaded crossbow pinned against her neck during a wild brawl in the city.
Demanded woman leave so she could sleep with man
Jolene Shields admitted pressing the crossbow against her victim’s neck at a flat on Brownhill Street last summer.
The woman had gone to the flat after being invited up by her former partner
Shields, 40, was in the flat and became angered after demanding the woman leave so she could sleep with the man.
Dundee woman had crossbow pressed against her neck before being slashed during wild brawl
Further north, in the Evening Express, a dad who fell ill while out with his family has thanked the police officers who saved his life – using a defibrillator bought in memory of a north-east teen.
Fell in in lay-by
James Geraghty fell ill and lost consciousness while parked in a lay-by in Bridge of Don.
His frantic wife Pauline and young son tried to pull him out the car and were helped by passers-by who began to administer CPR.
Two police officers, who were on a routine patrol, were flagged down and raced to help – bringing with them a defib donated by the charity Keiran’s Legacy.
North-east man thanks police for saving his life with donated defibrillator
In the North edition of the Press and Journal, an Inverness woman has spoken of her devastation after thieves stole a one-of-a-kind £20,000 ring from her home.
Public appeal
Karen Hendry believes the prized ring – which has huge sentimental value – was taken while was she was in the garden of Muirtown House.
A pair of £4,000 earrings that belonged to her late mother were also taken.
Police are investigating the theft, but Miss Hendry is appealing to members of the public to help get her treasures back.
The impact on people’s mental health due to the coronavirus pandemic is the topic of the Aberdeenshire edition of the paper’s front page.
Every north-east patient who needed hospital treatment for Covid-19 will get a mental health screening to help cut rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Third could have lasting mental health problems
Around 1,300 people in Grampian have required treatment in hospital for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
It is estimated as many as one-third of them could have long-lasting mental health difficulties as a result.
The Scottish Government is making cash available to all health boards to help tackle the potential issues now, before they have time to snowball into a larger crisis.
In the Glasgow Herald, Nicola Sturgeon has effectively accused Boris Johnson of adding to the death toll from coronavirus by failing to take decisive action during the pandemic.
‘Bitter experience’
Despite Scotland broadly mirroring the lockdown south of the border, the first minister said “bitter experience” had shown the importance of “responsible decision-making” by leaders.
Friday's front page of The Herald
– Nicola Sturgeon has
effectively accused Boris
Johnson of adding to the death
toll from coronavirus by failing
to take decisive action during
the pandemic.#TomorrowsPapersToday#scotpapers#BuyAPaper & subscribe: https://t.co/Ms01UHkxsw pic.twitter.com/WSjq4yutOB— The Herald (@heraldscotland) May 28, 2021
Ms Sturgeon also cited the explosive testimony by the Prime Minister’s former aide Dominic Cummings to MPs yesterday, in which he said Mr Johnson was unfit for office and claimed tens of thousands of more people had died because of the UK Government’s “shoddy response”.
Mr Cumming singled out Mr Johnson’s failure to order a second lockdown early enough in the autumn of 2020 for contributing to fatalities.
Indian variant of coronavirus a huge concern
In the Independent, at least half, and up to three-quarters, of all new Covid infections being recorded in the UK are caused by the Indian coronavirus variant, Matt Hancock has said.
A total of 6,959 cases have now been confirmed in Britain up to 26 May, according to Public Health England (PHE) – a rise of 3,535 on the previous week’s figures.
Friday's Independent: Now three in four Covid cases are Indian variant #TomorrowsPapersToday #Independent #IndependentDigital pic.twitter.com/rnAb4YZyhX
— Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) May 27, 2021
Speaking during a Downing Street press briefing on Thursday, the health secretary warned that the variant is “still spreading” throughout the UK.
It is thought to be spreading rapidly among unvaccinated pockets of the population and those who have not yet received both vaccine doses.