Coronavirus testing capacity to be extended in Scotland
The First Minister said the death toll of people in Scotland who have tested positive for Covid-19 is now 1,515 - up 40 on Thursday.
Nicola Sturgeon has announced coronavirus testing in Scotland will be expanded in care homes and to people aged over 65 with symptoms of the disease.
The First Minister said the death toll of people in Scotland who have tested positive for Covid-19 is now 1,515, up 40 from 1,475 on Thursday.
She said testing capacity in Scotland in NHS labs currently stands at 4,350, compared to 350 at the start of the outbreak.
The Scottish Government set a target of 3,500 for capacity in these labs by the end of April.
Combined with the UK Government testing network in Scotland, the daily capacity for tests in the country is now 8,350, Ms Sturgeon said.
By the end of the next week, she said it is hoped this combined capacity will have risen to 10,500 and then to 12,000 by the middle of May.
The First Minister said increasing capacity is not about chasing numbers'' and it is important to increase the number of tests carried out.
She said there were 2,537 NHS tests carried out on Thursday, in addition to 2,124 tests at the regional drive-through centres across Scotland, bringing the total number to 4,661.
The First Minister said 22,400 key workers or family members have been tested by the NHS.
Ms Sturgeon also announced 11,654 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, a rise of 301 from 11,353 on Thursday.
There are 1,809 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, up 61 from 1,748 the previous day.
Of these patients, 110 are in intensive care, a rise of four.
Expanding the testing regime in Scotland, she announced the Scottish Government will undertake "advanced outbreak investigation'' at care homes reporting cases of Covid-19.
The investigation will involve testing of all residents and staff regardless of symptoms.
She said, if a care home is part of a chain where staff move between homes, the testing will be carried out in the linked institutions.
Ms Sturgeon also said there will be sample testing done in homes where no cases have been reported.
The changes, which will be overseen by NHS Louisa Jordan chief executive Jill Young, will be put in place "as swiftly as practicable''.
She added the expansion of testing will need to be clinically driven''.
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