Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not contracted with a private laboratory in Northern Ireland to have Covid-19 tests processed. We are aware that the UK Government has contracted the Randox Lab in Northern Ireland to process Covid-19 tests.

Advice on COVID-19 testing for residents in sheltered accommodation is provided by Health Protection Scotland . Health Protection Scotland also provide a control measure tool for the control of incidents and outbreaks in Social or Community Care and Residential Settings, and measures to be taken to ensure shielding in such facilities in order to best protect the most vulnerable.

Local Health Protection Teams are able to advise on the need for testing of residents and staffing in sheltered housing accommodation taking account of the circumstances of the facility and will provide advice on other Infection Prevention and Control measures to help limit further spread of the virus.

Additional to any testing which may be undertaken by the local Health Protection Team, any staff who are symptomatic would also be eligible for testing through the UK Government’s programme in Scotland. Anyone in Scotland, age five or over, who is presenting with symptoms, will be able to book a test at the drive-in or mobile test centres.

The Scottish Government was first informed of a case of COVID-19 in Scotland on Sunday 1 March 2020 by Health Protection Scotland. Ministers were informed and a SGoRR(M) chaired by the First Minister was held that evening.

A news release was published on the Scottish Government website and on social media on 1 March informing the public of the case. The First Minister then gave a press conference the same evening.

https://www.gov.scot/news/coronavirus-covid-19/

Public health messaging at that time focussed on following good hygiene practices, such as washing your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser; avoiding direct hand contact with eyes, nose and mouth; and covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. This was accompanied by a “catch it, bin it, kill it” campaign.

Additionally, those who had travelled to affected areas and developed symptoms were advised to go home and phone their GP or NHS 24 out of hours.

Members of the public were then, as now, encouraged to visit the NHS Inform website for the latest advice.

The Scottish Government did not commit to undertake 1.2 million COVID-19 tests in sentinel practices – 1.2 million is the maximum representative population that the network of 200 GP practices involved in testing covers.

To maximise access to COVID-19 testing post-lockdown, and in response to the implementation of the new Community Pathway, we continue to work with NHS Boards to operate a community testing programme for enhanced surveillance. This approach is based around triage from NHS 24 to community telephone hubs and community assessment centres, rather than through GP practices.

This will provide information on those people presenting with mild to moderate symptoms and widens our understanding of Covid-19 within the community.

On 4 May we published our strategy to help disrupt community transmission of the virus, "Test, Trace, Isolate, Support" (link here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-test-trace-isolate-support/

This document sets out the Scottish approach to "test, trace and isolate, support" and the extensive work that is now underway to prepare for its implementation.

The Scottish Government have sought to be as open and transparent as possible. All of the minutes from meetings of the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group are routinely published and can be found at:

https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-government-covid-19-advisory-group/

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): test, trace, isolate, support strategy is based firmly on WHO advice and was published on 4 May 2020 and sets out plans to help disrupt community transmission of the virus. The strategy is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-test-trace-isolate-support/

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): test, trace, isolate, support strategy was published on 4 May 2020 and sets out plans to help disrupt community transmission of the virus. The strategy is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-test-trace-isolate-support/

We are continuing to rapidly increase our testing capacity and keep its use under constant review, including whether there are other groups who could or should be tested to improve our knowledge of the spread of the virus and to protect individuals.

On 4 May the Scottish Government published a Test, Trace, Isolate and Support Strategy, which is designed to interrupt chains of transmission of Covid-19 in the community.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-test-trace-isolate-support/pages/1/

As of 18 May, at least 32,166 key workers or their family members have been tested. This does not include key workers tested through the UK Government regional or mobile testing units, and is therefore likely to undercount the number of keyworkers tested. Information on the number of tests carried out each day since 2 March may be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/

Data is not collected for every sector and figures specifically for the nuclear (or energy sector more widely) are not available. At present we collect data on tests delivered for health and social care staff, along with the total number of tests delivered.