BRACED FOR TRAGEDY
Army steps in to help plan for inevitable rise in Covid-19 fatalities as chief medical officer says 65,000 Scots are likely to have the virus
Scotland’s coronavirus death toll rose to 40 yesterday as it emerged plans were being drawn up to open emergency morgues around the country.
It is understood up to seven large refrigerated mobile units normally used by the British Army are to be deployed at various locations to give capacity for an extra 1000 victims.
Their destinations have not been finalised but it is expected that they will be located next to major hospitals.
The facilities can be moved around if the pattern of deaths anticipated is different from what eventually emerges.
A source said: “There are contingency plans for all sorts of things – like IT systems going down for a day, fire, flood, explosions in a workplace – but there were no contingency plans for this.
“A l l the a genc i e s involved are having to learn on the job and it is a really sobering thought that we are now having to prepare for the inevitable huge rise in the number of deaths in Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are involved in detailed planning , a long with the UK Government and other devolved administrations, to ensure that all necessary provisions are in place to cope with the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, ensuring people are safe and any tragic loss of life is handled with care and respect.”
It comes after the Ministry of Defence said that the Army had provided “advice to NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government about potentially setting up an NHS Facility” at the SEC in Glasgow.
The Scottish Government yesterday announced that another seven people who had tested positive for Covid-19 had died, bringing the total to 40.
The confirmed number of patients with the illness in Scotland increased to 1245 – up from 1059 on Friday.
It was also revealed that the Scottish Secretary is self-isolating.
Alister Jack is said to be experiencing “mild” symptoms, including a cough and a temperature, but had not been tested for Covid-19.
On Wednesday, he was on the front bench in the Commons with Prime Minister
Boris Johnson on one side and Health Secretary Matt Hancock on the other. Both have since tested positive for coronavirus.
Jack said in a statement yesterday: “In the past 24 hours, I have developed mild symptoms associated with coronavirus. In line with medical guidance, I am sel f- isolating and working from home.”
Chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood, who warned that about 65,000 people in Scotland could by now have been infected with the disease, praised an announcement to increase testing for frontline health and social care workers across the UK.
It came amid claims from the British Medical Association that some essential NHS workers were needlessly selfisolating when they could be at work.
Critical care doctors and nurses will be prioritised under the new testing