The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
106 cases of Covid-19 suspected in Tayside
Health chiefs reveal none has returned as positive from the number presented so far
More than 100 suspected cases of Covid19 have presented across Tayside, it has been revealed.
Health bosses were discussing their response to the global emergency at an NHS Tayside board meeting yesterday.
The total figure of 106 includes 50 this week alone, mostly associated with travel to northern Italy.
However, so far, none of the cases has returned as positive.
The health board’s public health chief has said they have had “an unprecedented level of pressure” on their service and workers have had to voluntarily come in from annual leave to “cope with pressure.”
Dr Drew Walker, director of public health, told the board they were following the protocol followed during the 2009 flu pandemic (swine flu), and building on any lessons learned there saying: “We are using that as an exact template.”
He added: “Up until the weekend, the numbers we were hearing were significant but not overwhelming. The emergence of the information that came out of Italy changed that. The numbers taking advice and seeking action has soared since that.”
So far, 470 people in Scotland have had their tests concluded and tested negative for Covid-19.
Dr Walker said NHS Tayside had dealt with 106 possible cases, adding: “More than 50 have been this week – mostly associated with travel to northern Italy.”
NHS Tayside’s public health team has been arranging for anyone it deems as a possible case to come into Ninewells Hospital’s ward 42, which is the infectious diseases ward, where patients are tested “under strict infectious control procedures”.
But Dr Walker says the ward has been under “enormous pressure” this week with around 20 patients tested on Wednesday and a similar number tested yesterday.
He told the board: “It’s a timeconsuming pressure on the service and will not be sustainable as that grows.”
NHS Tayside will shortly move towards community-based testing in people’s homes.
Dr Walker said: “It’s not started yet but we hope within the next 10-12 days to get that up and running.”
He told the board: “It’s a serious situation and we have to take it seriously – which we are.”
The public health chief did concede they were dealing with the unknown, with uncertainty over “how this is going to pan out”.
However he offered the board reassurance that everyone in the local resilience team was “happy so far.”