The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Details of new expanded procedures
Who can be tested?
The first minister said the increase in capacity means Scotland can now extend the eligibility for testing, with care homes a “priority”.
Care home workers
Care home residents, residents entering a care home from hospital and care workers with symptoms were already being tested. However, the first minister said this will be expanded to test all residents and staff in those homes with an outbreak, whether they have symptoms or not. In addition, where a care home with an outbreak is part of a chain and staff might be moving between different homes, urgent testing will also be carried out in any linked homes. Testing will also begin in care homes where there are no cases, including residents and staff who are not symptomatic. Ms Sturgeon added that this would prove a “significant operational task”, adding the government did not underestimate the “logistical and workforce requirements”. However, the increased capacity will ensure this happens as “swiftly as practically possible”, she claimed.
Expansion of eligibility at UK test centres
The first minister said there will also be an extension to the UK-wide booking system and drive-through centres. This will now include all those over the age of 65 with symptoms and their households. In addition to key workers who are already eligible through this system, anyone who is not a key worker but is required to leave home to go to work will be eligible for a test. The Scottish Government will take steps in the coming days to increase awareness of those who can book tests through this system and, if demand is high, an online queuing system could be introduced.
What is antibody testing and how is it being used in Scotland?
PCR tests are the most commonly used diagnostic tests to determine whether someone is currently infected with the coronavirus, taking samples collected from a patient’s throat or nose. Antibody testing, rather than testing the virus itself, detects antibodies or proteins in the blood that bodies develop in order to fight off the virus – giving a history of the infection. Speaking during yesterday’s daily briefing, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said antibody testing is an “important tool” to indicate if a person has had the infection or not. The test uses blood samples drawn at random from a range of blood testing processes, with these then passed to an NHS lab in Inverness. The threshold of antibodies in the blood sample is detected and the results recorded. These results are then verified and analysed against wider population information to produce estimates of how prevalent the virus is in populations. Ms Freeman said Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has already been gathering blood samples “in anticipation” of a fully validated antibody test becoming available. Approximately 500 residual samples will be tested per week in Inverness. To begin with there will only be six health boards taking part by collecting and sending blood samples: Lothian, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Tayside, Highland and Grampian. HPS is anticipating that this testing will start on Wednesday and will run for at least 16 weeks. Ms Freeman said: “What this then gives us is information from that testing over that 16-week period starting from the middle of May and going forward. “This work will provide statistically robust estimates of the share of the population that has antibodies, including those who have not reported symptoms or had only experience of mild symptoms.”
What are the testing plans for the future?
Speaking yesterday, the first minister said while “significant strides” had been made in terms of boosting testing capacity, there will be a distinct move to a ‘test, trace, isolate’ system in order to help relieve the lockdown measures. This approach means testing people for coronavirus, tracking the spread of the virus, then tracing the people an infected person has come into contact with. More detail on this will be revealed next week but will involve a further increase to testing capacity.