'Test, Trace, Isolate' Covid-19 strategy to be in place in Scotland by end of May
The First Minister says the approach may be needed until a vaccine is found
The Scottish Government has set a target of the end of this month to have the resources in place for a test, trace, isolate strategy.
In her daily briefing at the Scottish Government's headquarters in Edinburgh, the First Minister said the approach may be needed in Scotland until a vaccine is found.
Outlining measures in the paper, Nicola Sturgeon said there will need to be daily testing capacity of 15,500 in place to support the strategy, which the Scottish Government is pushing for by the end of the month.
She said the approach - to isolate people with symptoms, test for the virus and trace their contacts should they test positive - will require around 2,000 members of staff.
The First Minister said the strategy will be most effective when infection rates are “lower than now”, although she could not say how low rates would have to be.
The 14-page paper said social distancing and other hygiene measures will need to continue while the TTI strategy is implemented, with Ms Sturgeon saying it will not be a “quick fix or magic solution”.
It reads: “Everyone in Scotland will have a part to play. We must be willing to continue physical distancing outside our homes.
“We must continue to observe good hand and respiratory hygiene. We must prepare for the possibility of having to self-isolate for 14 days in order to protect others because a close contact - whether someone we know well, or someone we have only spent time with once - has been diagnosed with Covid-19.
“We must all be ready to come forward for testing if we need it
“Test, trace, isolate, support, along with other public health interventions to reduce the risk of transmission, is likely to be part of life in Scotland until a vaccination programme for Covid-19 has been delivered.”
At the briefing, Ms Sturgeon said she would need the compliance of the Scottish public, saying: “I can't make TTI work without your co-operation and compliance, and I only have a right to ask for that if I'm open and honest with you about what we're doing to build it.”
Ms Sturgeon described TTI as “an important tool in our efforts over the next few weeks to get some normality back into our daily lives”, urging people to read the paper on the Scottish Government's website.
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