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Part A - Antibody

Antibody testing will tell us if a person has had the infection and enable us to learn more about the virus and how it is spreading through the population in Scotland. Evidence is evolving on whether the presence of antibodies indicates that someone is immune, and if so, for how long that immunity would persist.

Health Protection Scotland commenced antibody testing, for surveillance purposes, on 6 May. A reliable antibody test that can be deployed on a large scale is not yet available, although Health Protection Scotland is working with a number of companies on this. The aim would be to start to introduce diagnostic antibody testing as soon as possible after that.

Part B Vaccines

The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office continues to have regular contact with equivalents in the other UK health departments as part of UK wide coordination of COVID-19-related research, and has been updated as part of this contact on the establishment of a Vaccines Taskforce to support UK efforts to rapidly develop a coronavirus vaccine. The CSO funded NHS research infrastructure is available to support vaccine studies when they are at the appropriate stage of development.

Information on hospital discharges is collected by Public Health Scotland. The specific information requested is not held centrally.

Local Authorities are responsible for recycling centres and need to consider several factors before reopening them. These include the ability to operate sites safely, ensuring physical distancing is maintained and discouraging the public from making unnecessary journeys.

As the First Minister indicated on 10 May, we are looking at the possibility of reopening waste and recycling centres. We are working closely with Cosla and local authorities on this issue and will provide a further update on those discussions in the near future.

Businesses that have had to close have quite rightly looked to their insurance provider for help and it is disappointing to hear that many businesses continue to be unsuccessful in making a claim. Scottish Ministers are engaging regularly with the industry and have made clear our expectation that they do everything they reasonably can to support businesses and citizens at this difficult time.

On 1 May, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it intends to seek legal clarity on business interruption insurance to resolve doubt for businesses who are facing uncertainty on their claims. The FCA will bring to court key relevant cases, carefully chosen to offer a representative sample of the most frequently used policy wordings that are giving rise to uncertainty. This may include clauses of the kind you refer to. Ministers will be following the outcome of these proceedings closely.

The Scottish Government is concerned by recent reports (from England and the US) suggesting that minority ethnic communities are disproportionately affected by Covid-19.

Collection of ethnicity data is undertaken on a voluntary basis in Scotland in order to provide useful information for medical and other research purposes. Ethnicity questions are included in the death registration process, with informants to a death provided with a short statement as to their purpose, and noting that these questions, unlike the rest of the death registration process, are not statutory, and can be passed over if the informant does not wish to answer them.

More information on the quality of the data on ethnicity can be found on the NRS website via the following link:

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths/deaths-background-information/ethnicity-of-the-deceased-person

Analytical partners across the Scottish Government, NRS, Public Health Scotland and the NHS are working together to consider how we can better understand the impact of COVID-19 on those from all minority ethnic communities including from Black and Asian backgrounds. This data will be published when work is completed.

Public Health Scotland include deprivation analysis by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) in their new weekly COVID-19 statistical reports. The first of these reports was published on Wednesday 6 th May.

https://publichealthscotland.scot/our-areas-of-work/sharing-our-data-and-intelligence/coronavirus-covid-19-data/ .

National Records of Scotland (NRS) will publish a report which examines COVID-19 deaths by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) in mid-May.

In order to make best use of available testing capacity we have identified three priorities for testing, these are: to direct our testing capacity effectively to save lives and protect the vulnerable; to ensure that critical staff can return to work as soon as possible and to monitor and report on the spread and prevalence of the virus in the population and the impact of public health measures. Testing is therefore prioritised in hospitals and to enable essential workers in health and social care to return to work.

Scottish sites are actively enrolling patients into trials of drugs to treat COVID-19, principally through the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVID Therapy) Trial. As part of international efforts to co-ordinate and accelerate COVID-19 research, data between international studies will be combined.

Officials are in regular contact with all Scottish airports and sea-ports throughout COVID-19 outbreak.

I can confirm that at the time this question was issued (16 March) all airports were displaying the latest posters as agreed with Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland.

Guidance at that time related to international points of entry only, so UK passenger sea-ports such as Stranraer-Larne or Scottish Island services were not required to exhibit guidance.

We will continue to work with ports and airports to ensure the latest advice is displayed for the safety of all passengers and staff.

The safety of our health and social care workforce is an absolute priority, and we are continuously looking to improve the distribution of the protective equipment that is so vital in the fight against COVID-19. All care home owners have a responsibility to meet the requirements of their Care Inspectorate Registration. This includes providing the relevant PPE and training to their staff members.

In the context of COVID-19, whilst care homes have their own supply routes we took early steps to ensure PPE requirements could be met should these "normal business" routes fail.

We know have two national routes to support normal procurement of PPE by Health and Social Care Partnerships and providers for social care – a dedicated PPE triage helpline, and deliveries of PPE to local cluster points for onward distribution or collection by social care providers. Care Inspectorate registered service providers are required to call the triage helpline if they are working with COVID-19 suspected or confirmed cases and cannot get PPE through their normal routes.

We have also ensured a direct delivery of PPE to care homes across Scotland where needed, to help meet the increased demand caused by this pandemic. These direct deliveries of PPE started on Sunday 19 April and prioritised those care homes with known outbreaks of the virus. This will be reviewed on information supplied by care homes on their own supply of PPE stock. Stock will also continue to be provided to the local hubs which supply PPE to the social care workforce.

We continue to closely monitor the supply and distribution of PPE to those working in social care and will take action where necessary to ensure safety and well being of the social care workforce.