The Scottish Government has expanded the testing arrangements for COVID-19 across the country.
Health boards in Scotland have started implementing various methods to improve access to COVID-19 testing for the residents. These include testing in contained areas at local health centres, community testing at home and ‘drive-through’ testing in some areas.
NHS Lothian has introduced ‘drive-through’ testing, where patients with mild symptoms can drive themselves to a contained area within the hospital for testing, thereby reducing their exposure to other individuals likely to occur from walking or taking public transport.
Other boards have implemented community testing, which allows individuals to be tested in their own homes under appropriate conditions. Public health teams dressed in protective gear attend people’s homes to provide testing and offer advice to those displaying symptoms.
Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, said: "Our priority is to ensure testing facilities are available across Scotland, so we have asked health boards to explore options for people in their area depending on their needs. Methods of testing will be different depending on factors like population and geography.”
Scotland reported its first positive case of COVID-19 on 1 March 2020. The patient is a resident of the Tayside area with a recent history of travel to northern Italy and is currently receiving treatment in isolation.
Dr Calderwood has assured that Scotland is well equipped to respond to disease outbreaks and will ensure the highest safety standards for the protection of NHS staff, patients and the public.
