‘Lack of transparancy’ as fresh claims emerge about Nike conference
Labour’s Ian Murray has condemned a lack of transparency from both the UK and Scottish governments as the further impact of coronavirus cases linked to a Nike conference in Edinburgh came to light.
More than 70 employees from around the world attended the event at the Hilton Carlton Hotel on 26 and 27 February.
Investigations found that at least 25 people linked to the event contracted Covid-19, including eight based in Scotland, but the incident was not made public until it was revealed in a television documentary earlier this month.
The first coronavirus case in Scotland was announced on 1 March and was a Tayside resident unrelated to the conference.
But the Sunday Times says it has been reported locally that the north-east of England’s “patient zero” attended the conference in February and the infection was passed to a second person in Newcastle at a child’s birthday party.
The Chronicle newspaper also states that a church in Newcastle closed after a member tested positive for coronavirus, with it being “understood the patient works for Nike in Sunderland and contracted the virus after attending a conference in Edinburgh”.
And the Scottish Sun said one staff member at the Sunderland base contracted the virus after the Edinburgh conference.
Mrmurray,labour’sonlymp in Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government has fresh questions to answer about its cover-up of the ground-zero coronavirus outbreak.
“Not only were people in Edinburgh kept in the dark, the decision to keep the information secret means people in north-east England were also unaware of how the virus could easily spread to their region.
“There are questions too for the UK government which should have acted when the Scottish Government failed to be transparent. The lack of transparency from both governments is harming public confidence at a vital time for the country as we move towards easing lockdown.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has strenuously denied on several occasions covering up the incident.