REHIS News

Access to testing to find cases and interrupt transmission already taking place in Scotland is being stepped up.

Routine testing of healthcare workers has been expanded to cover patient-facing primary care workers such as GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, as well as testing for all patient-facing staff who work in hospices.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS), Public Health Scotland (PHS), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) have issued a further warning on the handling and cooking of frozen raw breaded chicken products such as nuggets, goujons, dippers, poppers and kievs.

New legislation, which will require food businesses in Scotland to include the product name and full ingredients, including allergen information on pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods was been laid in Parliament on 11 February 2021.

The new legislation will improve information about allergens and other ingredients in food packed in advance, mainly at the same place from which it’s sold, before being offered to consumers.

All arrivals to Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area must book and pay for managed isolation in quarantine hotels to help protect against the importation of Coronavirus (COVID-19) from 15 February.

Bird keepers in Scotland are reminded to maximise biosecurity and keep their flocks housed after avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed in a flock of approximately 14,000 mixed gamebirds on a gamebird rearing premises in Leven, Glenrothes.

Laboratory results of samples taken from the flock have identified the strain as highly pathogenic in poultry. In order to limit the further spread of disease, appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the premises.

People who have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 are now being asked to get tested.

The Scottish Government announced that the measure is designed to find asymptomatic coronavirus cases that would otherwise go undetected, as close contacts are at higher risk than the wider population, given their exposure to somebody with COVID-19.

Previously, outbreak Incident Management Teams (IMTs) have had the ability to order testing of close contacts on a case-by-case basis, in line with local assessment of clinical risk.

As a study of public health, the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) plays an important role in assessing health outcomes and challenges in Scotland. With aims to reduce health inequalities and improve Scotland’s life expectancy status, currently one of the lowest in Western Europe (including in the UK), improving the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s population continues to be a key policy focus both at local and national level. 

Read the report here.

The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on disinfecting premises during the coronavirus pandemic has been updated to include joint advice on risks to health that can be created by using walk-through spraying or misting systems.

The Scottish Government have published Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on working from home to support the continuation of working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

National Supermarket chains including Tesco, Asda and Sainbury’s have announced strengthening their policies to ensure customer compliance with COVID-19 safety measures.

Tesco, Waitrose and Asda have all announced that they will not allow entry to customers who do not wear face coverings unless they are medically exempt.

While, Sainsbury’s have said they will challenge those who are not wearing a mask, following trials that showed customers complied more when asked to wear masks by security guards at the door, it said.