POSTCODE TESTING
Screenings and jabs hurried as city cases soar
MASS postcode testing will begin in Scotland’s biggest city amid fears a spike in infections could include one of the new Indian variants of Covid-19.
People in two Glasgow postcode areas have been sent letters urging them to be screened – whether they have symptoms or not.
Plans to vaccinate residents aged 18 to 39 in those districts are also being brought forward, just days before the city is to move to Level 2 restrictions.
People in the G41 and G42 areas of the South Side, which includes Pollokshields, Strathbungo, Govanhill and Toryglen, are due to receive their letters from today.
Public health experts fear the latest cases could include a new Indian variant, B1617.02. Tests to determine if it is among the new cases will take two weeks.
There have already been 35 cases of B1617.02 in Scotland
In the past 24 hours, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has reported 138 new cases of Covid-19 in the city, and 563 in the last seven days.
Data suggests the latest outbreak is due to a cluster of cases linked to household mixing. Linda Bauld, professor of public health at Edinburgh University, warned the Indian variant ‘may be even more transmissible’ than the form of Covid which tore through Scotland during the winter.
She added that if this is the case, the response from the Test and Protect contract tracing service ‘needs to be super-robust’.
Professor Bauld said: ‘As we look ahead to Monday, when there is going to be a lot of easing [of curbs], questions will be asked about the profile of those cases when it comes to variants.’
Cases in Glasgow are at 70.9 per 100,000 people, official data revealed yesterday.
No specific measures have been put in place to deploy extra test kits but residents in the affected areas are urged to have rapid tests, even if they do not have symptoms. These tests are now available to everyone in Scotland.
Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: ‘We are seeing an increase in cases in Glasgow just now and, amid concern about the so-called Indian variant, we are monitoring it very closely.’
Restrictions in Glasgow are due to be eased alongside most of the rest of Scotland on Monday. Only Moray is unlikely to drop down a
level under the Scottish Government’s five-tier system, due to its high number of infections.
The changes mean people will be able to visit others in their homes, with up to six people from up to three households allowed to gather indoors.
Also from Monday, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve alcohol indoors, while cinemas and theatres will be permitted to reopen. Asked if Glasgow should be able to move to Level 2, Professor Bauld said: ‘It is for policy colleagues to decide what happens.
‘There are over 600,000 people living in Glasgow city authority. It seems premature to say once again... the whole city can’t move. A localised approach, concentrating on identification and support of cases is the first step. We all need to try to follow the guidance and when more things open next week, do that really, really cautiously.’
Dr Linda de Caestecker, director of public health at NHSGGC, described the situation as concerning.
She said: ‘I would urge everyone to get the vaccine when you receive your invitation, and take advantage of regular testing, even if you have no symptoms, with the lateral flow testing kits we have all been offered.’
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘A number of measures are being implemented including through community engagement and access to testing through provision of mobile testing units.
‘As a further measure, NHS GGC are bringing forward vaccination of those aged 18-39 from these areas. Our ambition remains that the country will be able to move together in the easing of restrictions.’
Cases are also on the rise in Clackmannanshire, which has 52.4 cases per 100,000, and in Midlothian, which now has 48.7 cases per 100,000.