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Government steps up coronavirus testing |
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Two Scottish laboratories are to begin testing samples from people suspected of being infected by the coronavirus.
Equipment is being brought on stream from today at NHS laboratories at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to handle all samples from people in Scotland.
Until now, all samples were being sent to London.
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, says the hope is that testing closer to home will allow results to come through faster:
“Ever since the beginning of this global outbreak we have been working hard to develop a testing facility within Scotland. I am pleased that we will now have two Scottish facilities, greatly reducing the time it takes to confirm negative results.
“Although all Scottish tests have so far been negative, we are prepared for the high likelihood that we will also see a positive case in Scotland.
“Our NHS is well equipped to deal with infections of this kind. We have a proven track record of dealing with challenging health issues, and have been preparing for this possibility since the beginning of the outbreak.”
The Scottish government says any positive sample will still then go to Public Health England’s Colindale laboratory in London for confirmation before being reported to the World Health Organisation. |
