Testing centre staf f told: Stay open all 2021

STAFF at Covid testing centres have been told they still stay open until the end of the year.

They had been briefed initially that the hubs would be shut down ‘around May’, but were recently informed of the extension.

Now staff manning the centres are expecting to remain on-site until December.

A testing centre source said: ‘It’s really got people wondering what is going on.

‘The centre was only supposed to be open until around May, so we’re all a bit surprised.’

The disclosure has raised concern that the vaccination programme is unlikely to have an early impact on the virus, with testing in place for many more months than expected.

Last night Scottish Tory health spokesman secretary Donald Cameron said: ‘While the vaccinations give us hope of a return to normal, we must continue to follow the guidelines in order to stop the spread of the virus.

‘The SNP must ensure that vaccinations remain on schedule so that the number of cases in our communities start to go down, when restrictions hopefully start to be lifted.

‘The public are still complying with the guidelines but want to see a route out.’

Scottish Government officials said UK Government contracts for local test sites were for an initial period of six months – as many are set up in premises which may need to revert to normal use.

But the ‘intention was always to review this position to ensure appropriate access to testing across Scotland’.

Testing under the UK programme in Scotland is currently conducted in drive-through sites operating at Glasgow Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Aberdeen

Airport and Prestwick Airport, the University of the Highlands and Islands campus in Inverness and Dudhope Castle in Dundee.

There are also a number of mobile testing units located in towns across Scotland for short periods each time.

And there are walk-through test sites around the country, including locations in Aberdeen, Arbroath, Cumbernauld, Dundee, East Kilbride and Edinburgh home-test kits are also an option where people seeking a test are unable to attend a drive-through centre.

The Scottish Government has said ‘international peer-reviewed evidence suggests that selfswabbing is just as effective at securing a valid sample as clinician-administered testing’.

But there have been concerns about access to home-testing kits in remote areas, leading to fears over a postcode lottery.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government has had no plans to close its testing centres. Our testing strategy has always recognised our approach will evolve over time.’

‘We want to see a route out’