Veil of secrecy over Nike outbreak was justified – Sturgeon
THE decision to keep the public in the dark about Scotland’s first Covid-19 outbreak was taken for ‘legitimate’ reasons, Nicola Sturgeon claimed yesterday.
The First Minister has come under growing pressure after it emerged she chose not to make public a spate of cases in February.
Opponents have described the decision as ‘a major error of judgment’.
The First Minister has claimed patient confidentiality was behind the decision.
She said she ‘understands the concerns’ over the handling of the outbreak at a Nike conference in Edinburgh.
Miss Sturgeon also said she would ‘reflect on’ the decision not to inform Scots that the first outbreak had occurred at the Hilton Carlton Hotel.
Of the 70 who attended the event, 25 were later diagnosed with coronavirus – including eight who live in Scotland.
Serious concerns have been raised over Miss Sturgeon’s decision not to release information about the outbreak – with firms complaining they were not told, despite coming into contact with delegates.
Yesterday, it was revealed that attendees had taken an hour-long walking tour – but their guides were never informed about the outbreak.
According to Sky News, they performed a ‘Nike haka’ in the lobby and a guide joked that anyone with the virus should ‘stand at the back’.
Labour Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray said: ‘As every day passes, the scale of the failure to contact trace those who engaged with Nike delegates becomes clearer.’
He added: ‘If the government had been honest with the Edinburgh public about a major outbreak in the city centre, those who met with delegates could have come forward to help prevent the spread of the virus.’
It has also emerged that 20 Lloyds Banking Group employees shared facilities with Nike at the hotel, but were not contacted or tested.
Four firms have complained they were not told, including a kilt hire shop which fitted delegates and a digital marketing business from Glasgow.
Speaking at her daily briefing, Miss Sturgeon said she understood why concerns have been raised. However, she defended how the outbreak had been handled.
She said: ‘There are very few aspects of detailing with this that are absolutely black and white and clear-cut.
‘A lot of it is judgment and I accepted at the outset of this and I accept now that sometimes we will get some of these judgments wrong.
‘That’s not me saying I think that was the case in this case, but I accept that, even in situations where I think, on balance, the judgment was right, other people will take a different view.’
She hit out at accusations that she has presided over a cover-up and argued that patient confidentiality was ‘not a made-up reason’ for not making the outbreak public.
Miss Sturgeon insisted: ‘To have named the event would have almost certainly have identified the patients.’
She has pledged to ‘listen carefully’ to those who have raised concerns, but said all test, trace and isolate procedures were followed properly.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: ‘If people are going to put their faith in the test, trace and isolate system, the government needs to reassess the balance being struck between patient confidentiality and keeping the public safe.’
The outbreak was only revealed last week in a BBC documentary.