Covid in Scotland: Governments clash in testing delays row

A delay to the publication of Covid test results was caused by a "testing capacity issue", the Scottish government has said.

It said the issue with the UK government Lighthouse lab in Glasgow has caused 64,000 tests to be re-routed to other sites.

The UK government, however, said this was "categorically untrue".

It comes as 316 new cases were recorded in 24 hours - a dramatic drop from 1,167 on Saturday.

There were no new deaths reported, but the number of people admitted to hospital continues to increase.

A post on the Scottish government website said an increase in the number of positive Covid test results was expected on Monday and Tuesday.

It read: "The Scottish government is urgently trying to establish with the UK government what exactly is causing the delay in testing but this is mainly due to demand from outwith Scotland.

"We continue to reroute routine testing of care home staff through NHS Scotland testing facilities to ensure prompt turnaround times."

The Scottish government's clinical director, Prof Jason Leitch said there was no immediate risk.

He said: "These are people who are self-isolating. They are waiting for their results to come back and to be added to the numbers. There is not an additional big risk to the population. It's the people with symptoms who are already isolating.

"Some of them will be isolating even with a negative test, we just don't know that. So in 24-48 hours, that will catch up and we will see the numbers change on Monday and Tuesday."

But the UK government later issued a strongly-worded statement denying that there was a problem with its laboratory.

"This claim is categorically untrue," a spokeswoman said.

"There is no capacity issue at the UK government's Glasgow Lighthouse Lab. The Glasgow Lighthouse Lab is highly efficient, with the capacity to analyse tens of thousands of samples a day.

"Rerouting tests to other laboratories is a routine practice to ensure timely processing."

The Lighthouse lab is located at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Allan Wilson, who is president of the Institute of Biomedical Science, based at Monklands hospital on North Lanarkshire, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme the problem was that no one understood how the Lighthouse laboratories operate.

He said: "The issue we have with the Lighthouse lab is that there is a lack of transparency to what happens in that lab because it is not part of the NHS testing, it is delivered through the UK government and it is difficult to find out what the actual issues are until we actually hit problems like we just hit.

"They work as a network, so they move samples around the country if there are problems. That in itself increases turnaround time and delays results getting back. They did have an issue with staffing, certainly when staff returned to academic institutions, when universities started back, and we know they are actively recruiting.

"What we are calling for is more transparency. If the Lighthouse labs worked more in collaboration with the NHS labs we would be able to work between the two more easily and focus on those samples and results that are needed urgently."

Temporary restrictions to bring the outbreak back under control in the central belt have led to the closure of most licensed premises in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran NHS boards.

Those living in these areas have been warned not to travel to other parts of Scotland or to areas in England where such restrictions are not in force.

But Scotland's response to the pandemic is ever-evolving.

Nicola Sturgeon is drawing up plans for a "three-tier framework", in order to account for regional differences in Covid rates and isolate areas of higher prevalence.

When this move was announced earlier in the week, the first minister said tighter restrictions were not "inevitable".

The introduction of the tier system in England has prompted concerns of a divide between science and the UK government's decision making.

Meanwhile, leaders in Greater Manchester have outright rejected its move to the highest alert level without more generous financial support.

Instead of imposing restrictions on travel, Ms Sturgeon appealed to football fans to stay at home ahead of the Old Firm game on Saturday.

According to Police Scotland, "a minority of fans did gather near Celtic Park ahead of the match and pyrotechnics were used".

Discussions regarding travel are ongoing, with some regions feeling more urgency for action than others.

According to The Herald on Sunday, the leader of the Orkney Islands Council has called for separate rules to be introduced for people arriving from the mainland - such as mandatory testing.

The first minister has written to Boris Johnson urging him to adopt a "four nations" approach to travel restrictions.