Large-scale testing is underway on Orkney to establish the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak, which is linked to a Kirkwall pub.
In a briefing today, NHS Orkney interim health chief Michael Dickson said more than 1,000 Covid tests were carried out in Orkney in the last 48 hours.
A walk-in mobile testing unit will based out of Kirkwall Grammar School from Saturday and with Orkney’s own testing capacity maxed-out, tests undertaken on the island are being sent to the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
It comes after three people tested positive for the virus on the island with more expected.
Asked if a local lockdown may be on the cards, with holiday visitors potentially being told to turn back to the mainland, he said: “We are going out there and testing asymptomatic individuals to get ahead of any spread without symptoms.
“If we can do this and if the public work with us then we are confident we will be able to get in front of it and we will see spread minimised but I am expecting cases will still come through.”
Stay at home
He said the widespread contact risk meant health chiefs were asking people, where possible, to stay at home.
“If you may have been in contact we are asking you to stay at home until you get your results,” he said.
“And if anyone is symptomatic then we would advise them not to use lateral flow device testing – isolate immediately and arrange to come in and have your PCR test immediately.”
He said many Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney staff have had early access to the vaccination programme.
However, as this does not include front-line teachers, he said it was “fortunate” schools were now breaking for the long summer holiday.
He added: “There’s no indication right now that we are seeing any cases with children being affected.”
Pubs are not to blame
Mr Dickson said notwithstanding the fact the Covid cluster was linked to a pub in Kirkwall, pubs were “not to blame”.
“People were responding to a Level Zero environment, that creates its own challenges but crowds are the biggest risk so avoid those at all costs.”
Mr Dickson added: “It’s always worrying when you see cases of the virus rise, particularly on our island communities, because we have a degree of fragility that just doesn’t happen on the mainland boards, just because we are a little bit further away should someone become very unwell.”
He went on: “We can fit about 50 patients into The Balfour Hospital but it is always an issue that we have no intensive care department, and so we have a ventilation unit that we stood up right at the start of the pandemic.”
He added: “What is interesting across the whole of Scotland is demand for hospital care has increased and that is not just linked to Covid.
“Hospitals across Scotland are busy and The Balfour is no different.”
Hospital admissions
He said the critical point was hospital admissions.
“It is now looking like the vaccine is taking strong steps towards breaking the link between people becoming so unwell they need to go to hospital,” he added.
The variant is not yet known, however Mr Dickson said it is “highly likely” that this is the Delta variant, which is dominant across Scotland.
It comes as the daily testing rate in the last 24 hours in Scotland was at its highest level since tests began.
A total of 2,999 people have tested positive within the last 24 hours and those individuals had contact with more than 10,000 people.