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Sturgeon warns of repeated self-isolation once lockdown eases Sturgeon warns of repeated self-isolation once lockdown eases
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Scottish policy paper emphasises coronavirus ‘test, trace, isolate, support’ strategyScottish policy paper emphasises coronavirus ‘test, trace, isolate, support’ strategy
Nicola Sturgeon has warned that people may be asked to self-isolate themselves repeatedly once ministers introduce a new “test, trace, isolate” policy after the coronavirus lockdown eases. Nicola Sturgeon has said people may be asked to self-isolate repeatedly once ministers introduce a new “test, trace, isolate, support” policy after the coronavirus lockdown eases.
The Scottish government published a new policy paper on how it would tackle future Covid-19 infections during later phases of the pandemic, which will focus heavily on “early and effective” identification of new cases through testing, and then tracking down and isolating other people in contact with infected people. The Scottish government has published a policy paper on tackling future Covid-19 infections during later phases of the pandemic. Efforts will focus heavily on “early and effective” identification of new cases through testing, and then tracking down and isolating those in contact with infected people.
The paper said Scottish labs would need to conduct at least 15,500 tests a day, to cover about 2% of the population. The NHS would also need to find and train 2,000 additional people to specialise in contact tracing. The first minister said during her daily coronavirus briefing she was unlikely to start lifting the country’s strict lockdown rules in the near future but confirmed the test, trace, isolate and support policy would start soon and expand as capacity increased.
The document said the new “test, trace, isolate, support” strategy would underpin the post-lockdown approach, alongside all existing measures such as physical distancing, good hygiene such as regular handwashing, use of face coverings in crowded public places and disease surveillance. Sturgeon said it had already begun on Skye, where local NHS officials launched a concerted contact-tracing effort after an outbreak at a care home in Portree affected 54 residents and staff. That led to 26 workers and their immediate families being asked to self-isolate for up to 14 days.
It was “designed to help us interrupt chains of transmission in the community by identifying cases of Covid-19, tracing the people who may have become infected by spending time in close contact with them, and then supporting those close contacts to self-isolate, so that if they have the disease they are less likely transmit to it to others.” “Don’t think of it as one day you flick a switch and we go from no TTI [test, trace, isolate] to having full capacity. It will build up over the weeks to come,” she said. This kind of policy would probably have to remain in force until a vaccine became available, she added.
Anyone who had been closer than 2 metres from an infected person for 15 minutes or more would be required to self-isolate for 14 days, the document said. It would mean some people could have to self-isolate several times in succession, she said. They may not know the person who was infected but would be told by NHS contact-tracing staff they had to remain at home for a fortnight.
Testing capacity would need to expand dramatically to cope: Scotland’s daily testing potential would hit 8,000 samples a day by mid-May, with another 4,000 tests a day done at the UK government’s Lighthouse laboratory at University of Glasgow. Sturgeon said: “You might go back to work for a week and be contacted again, and told actually someone else has got it. It is not impossible that all of us will find ourselves being contacted and told to isolate perhaps on multiple occasions.
The first minister warned the policy would, in effect, become the new normal. It would be effective once community transmission rates were at a much lower level than at present, she indicated. “I am not saying this to alarm people or scare people but it’s really important to get people thinking about the practical implications of this, because it will only work if it has your confidence and your willingness to comply.”
“It is important to stress that “test, trace, isolate, support” will be most effective when levels of infection are low – lower than now – and stay low, and that its success relies on all of us knowing and agreeing what to do if we have symptoms, and being prepared to self-isolate when advised to do so. She said Scottish labs would be able to conduct at least 15,500 tests a day, to cover about 2% of the population, by the end of May. The NHS would also need to find and train 2,000 additional people to specialise in contact tracing.
“This will not be easy. In this next phase, we will be asking people to self-isolate, not for their own benefit, and not because we know for certain that they have contracted the disease, but in order to protect others in case they have. Under Scotland’s emergency coronavirus legislation, Sturgeon must decide on Thursday whether to extend or relax the lockdown for the following three weeks. She indicated that based on the trajectory of the pandemic in Scotland, there was little chance of it being relaxed this week.
“People may face self-isolation not just once, but on repeat occasions.” The policy document said the new strategy would work alongside existing measures such as physical distancing, good hygiene regimes such as regular handwashing, use of face coverings in crowded public places and disease surveillance.
Anyone who had been closer than two metres from an infected person for 15 minutes or more would be required to self-isolate for 14 days, the document said.
The Scottish Tory leader, Jackson Carlaw, said it was essential the new testing target was met and the policy implemented as soon as possible.
“This cannot just be another example of Nicola Sturgeon’s government saying one thing and delivering something considerably less,” he said.“All over Scotland, the physical and mental health of people is suffering, and they cannot afford to endure this longer than is necessary.”