Covid in Scotland: Tesco staff 'devastated' at deaths of two colleagues

Staff at a Tesco superstore are mourning two colleagues who died after contracting Covid-19.

The supermarket chain confirmed the deaths of two employees at its Greenock branch in Inverclyde.

A spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with their families and we are supporting our store colleagues at this difficult time."

The Daily Record reported the man and a woman died within days of one another, leaving colleagues "devastated".

A number of staff are also believed to be self-isolating after an outbreak at the nearby Port Glasgow Tesco.

Inverclyde had lower levels of Covid-19 than neighbouring council areas at the start of December but numbers have risen rapidly since then.

In recent days the area has seen cases leap to more than 550 cases per 100,000 population, one of the highest rates in Scotland.

National clinical director Prof Jason Leitch paid tribute to the contribution of supermarket workers during the pandemic.

"They are the actual frontline in the same way as other first responders have been the frontline," he said.

He said he believed supermarkets were safe and praised them for introducing measures such as one-way systems to maintain physical distancing.