Military personnel were drafted in to support NHS Grampian amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the region.

In a Covid-19 briefing note, the health board said it anticipated “continued and significant growth” of the virus, which would place further pressure on hospitals, care homes and community teams.

The note said: “Our planned response will include a declaration of a major incident when a number of key trigger points are reached.

“This decision will be taken by the strategic and tactical commanders (CEO and portfolio leads respectively) and informed by G-OPES levels across the whole system; the number of covid patients in hospital and levels of staff sickness from Covid.

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