Coronavirus: Scotland's nursery staff to receive 'on demand' COVID-19 testing

Nursery staff and teachers in Scotland are to receive on-demand testing for COVID-19, even if they have no symptoms.

Credit: Shutterstock

Scotland’s Education Secretary John Swinney said nursery staff and teachers worried that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 can ask to be tested, irrespective of whether or not they have symptoms.

Announcing the decision in the Scottish Parliament, the Education Secretary said: "This step has been taken to provide additional reassurance to teachers and other staff as children and young people return to the classroom and to nursery.

“It is vital these measures provide credible reassurance to all who have expressed anxiety about the reopening of schools".

'Aberdeen reminds us we need to stay on our guard'

Highlighting a summary paper from the Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith on the latest science in respect of COVID-19, Mr Swinney said: “As at 3 August, less than one per cent of the cases of COVID-19 in Scotland had involved children aged under 15".

But in his statement to Parliament, Mr Swinney also said: “Aberdeen reminds us that we need to stay on our guard.

“This is a new and frightening virus. It is entirely reasonable for staff to be concerned for their own health and to want to understand what we are doing to keep them safe.

“We’re putting in place a programme of enhanced surveillance to be able to monitor progress and react quickly to developments on the ground."

Nursery staff ‘deserve the same reassurance as footballers’

Ross Greer, Scottish Greens education spokesman, called for testing to be “regularly offered” to school staff, particularly in areas like Aberdeen, which has seen a rise in cases, prompting a local lockdown.

Ross Greer said: “The countries which have successfully eliminated COVID-19 credit much of this to their intense use of regular testing, and it underpins the Scottish Government’s rules for the return of premier league football.

“School staff surely deserve the same reassurance as footballers.”