South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has praised his constituents living in South and East Ayrshire for sticking with tough level 4 restrictions and driving down Covid rates over the past few weeks.

The Scottish Government’s Covid-19 figures have revealed that in South Ayrshire, prevalence is 102.1 per 100,000, almost half of its peak of 196.3 on November 4. Seven day test positivity rate is 3.3%, compared to 8.4% on Nov 4.

In East Ayrshire, prevalence is 125.4 per 100,000, half its peak of 255.7 per 100,000 on October 27. Seven day test positivity rate is 3.6%, down by two-thirds on October 27 when it was 10%.

Colin Smyth said: “People across Ayrshire have worked very hard to follow the ever-changing rules over the past couple of months and the most recent Covid figures indicate that their vigilance is paying off.

“We know that level 4 restrictions are coming to an end on Friday and many people still feel aggrieved at the failure to introduce mass testing, problems with test and protect and errors such as the botched handling of the return to university of students, which led to the rise in cases and ultimately these tough restrictions.

“However, I would like to thank everyone who has stuck to the rules over the past weeks in what has been a very challenging time and the falling Covid cases is a testimony to the community’s resilience.

“Hopefully, the easing of restrictions will provide a welcome relief for businesses across Ayrshire who have been really suffering in what would usually be their busiest time of year. But with some restrictions still in place for the foreseeable future, both the Scottish and UK Governments will have to redouble their efforts to support businesses to get through the next few months.”