Virus strains to be traced

PUBLIC Health Scotland experts are working to identify the viral strains of care home infections to establish if they are linked to hospitals.

Families and care home workers believe some outbreaks in residential units were caused by patients with Covid-19 being moved out of hospitals to clear beds.

Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said the investigation would ‘shed light’ on where care home residents picked up the virus.

She added: ‘It’s imperative that we protect care home residents and staff from Covid19 and that includes doing all we can to ensure hospital patients are not taking the virus back into care homes.’

In April, the Scottish Government said two negative tests were needed before a patient was moved to a care home, but it later emerged that they were not always carried out.