‘Huge’ efforts over increased testing

Thousands of Scots are to be tested for Covid-19 as Nicola Sturgeon steps up the fight against the virus.

The first minister said “huge” efforts are being made to expand the number of coronavirus tests to 3,000-a-day amid concerns that not enough are being carried out.

Ms Sturgeon said tests are currently being performed on around 800 people per day.

She said: “We are very focused and a huge amount of work is under way right now to expand the capacity of our lab network in Scotland so that we can do more tests and that will obviously enable more tests on (health and care) workers to be done.”

Key health and care workers will be prioritised.

Ms Sturgeon also said discussions with private companies are taking place at a UK level to further increase testing capacity.

An additional laboratory in Glasgow is about to become operational as part of that drive.

Concern has been expressed that not enough NHS and care staff are getting tested, meaning that some are having to self-isolate as a precautionary measure even if they do not have the virus.

Shadow Health Secretary Miles Briggs called for more testing to be introduced for key workers as a matter of urgency.

“Up to 20% of NHS and social care staff could be affected, and the tests can help get them back to work safely,” he said.

The Uk-wide target is for 25,000 daily tests. The German figure is 70,000 per day. Currently, the UK capacity is for 10,949 tests a day.