COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
By 16 March and following the outbreak in Italy,[6][7] and based on forecasting by epidemiologists at Imperial College London[8]—the Scottish Government advised the public to avoid all "non-essential" travel and contact with others, and to remote work if possible.The Scottish government pursued a zero-COVID strategy aiming to eliminate the virus entirely in 2020, lifted lockdown rules more gradually than the rest of the country, and expanded testing capacity.On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.[19][17] On 24 January, the first tests for COVID-19 came back negative, with the then Chief Medical Officer Dr. Catherine Calderwood saying that the risk was low for the Scottish public, although acknowledged that cases would arrive at some point.Nicola Sturgeon accepted her resignation and replaced Calderwood on an acting basis with the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Gregor Smith.the Key Scottish Government officials in Scotland leading the response to the outbreak are: Workplace hygiene advice was published on 9 March 2020 which included routine deep cleaning in regularly used touch points such as phones, card machines or door handles.Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said, "The response to the Scotland Cares campaign has been outstanding and I want to thank each and every person who has signed up to volunteer during the COVID-19 outbreak.This included around 120,000 people in Scotland who had been advised to shield[141] at home (12 weeks of self-isolation), those with suppressed or compromised immune systems, and those with underlying health conditions.[157][158] Glasgow University is to launch a major COVID-19 testing facility in mid-April, staffed 24/7 by more than 500 volunteers including molecular scientists, technicians and bioinformaticians."[162][160] Cam Donaldson, a health economist and Pro Vice Chancellor Research, Glasgow Caledonian University has written of his scepticism of a "mass testing" strategy.[163] Derek Gatherer a leading Scottish virologist has warned plans to test, trace and isolate everyone infected with the COVID-19 after lockdown will not slow its spread.[170] Ciaran Jenkins of Channel 4 News contrasted the differing approaches on contact-tracing strategy between the Republic of Ireland and the health authorities in the UK including Scotland's.[171][172] Public health expert Prof Allyson Pollock has argued that a bespoke test-trace-isolate approach could work well in Scottish island communities.[173] Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said in a statement in the Scottish Parliament a network of COVID-19 local assessment centres was to be set up across Scotland with 50 planned in the first wave.[155][needs update] The NHS Louisa Jordan emergency COVID-19 hospital facility at the SEC Centre will initially have capacity for 300 patients, which could be expanded in the future to more than 1,000.[179] By 1 April 2020, NHS clinical and technical staff have converted over 200 anaesthetic machines into ventilators to increase ICU bed availability to more than 500, tripling the usual capacity.[180] By 24 March more than 3,000 retired Scottish nurses, doctors and other medical workers have volunteered to return to work as part of efforts to help the NHS cope.[182] On 27 April 121 junior doctors have started their careers early to support NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Scotland's largest health board in its COVID-19 response.On the issue of hospital-acquired infections, Michael Griffin, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh warned COVID-19 may be spreading in hospitals at twice the rate of its transmission in communities.On 2 April, new guidance on appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare hospital, general practice, ambulance and social care workers responding to COVID-19 has been issued by officials.The spokeswoman added: "We understand that potential suppliers will desire prompt decisions but our priority focus is to quickly identify those offers that can supply the largest volumes at the correct quality specifications and timescales necessary to meet the requirements of frontline services".[187] Health secretary Jeane Freeman announced that PPE would be available to social care providers through a national network of hubs from 27 April 2020.[167] Also in April 2020 whistle-blowers in the NHS came forward to reveal that staff were being made to reuse dirty personal protective equipment (PPE) while at work."[189] A fundraising drive to buy PPE for frontline workers under the name of 'Masks for Scotland' was spearheaded by Dundee University Professor of vascular medicine Jill Belch.It is hoped the treatment will also lead to patients spending fewer days dependent on oxygen and shorter periods of time in hospital, reducing the burden on healthcare systems.[207] The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on pre-existing issues in the legal framework in the UK that surround healthcare professionals and patients, encouraging action to be taken now.[208] During the COVID-19 pandemic, many doctors and other healthcare professionals have worked in unfamiliar surroundings and been assigned to new clinical areas, while balancing an unprecedented workload and addressing an overall lack of knowledge about the virus itself.This has led to concerns that there may be an increase in complaints about treatment provided in these circumstances, and competing arguments on how these should be handled within the criminal, civil and regulatory system.[200] From 27 March to 24 April 2020, police officers have made 78 arrests and issued 1,637 fixed penalty notices in Scotland related to lockdown violations.[217] Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its headline statistic for workloads in Scotland fell into negative territory for the first time in four years, dropping by 4% in the first three months of 2020.
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