Tens of thousands of people are facing delays in getting their coronavirus test results after a problem at the UK Government Lighthouse facility in Glasgow.
A statement on the Scottish Government's website today said it had been notified "late last week of a testing capacity issue" at the city laboratory.
It said that the issue meant around 64,000 tests from across the UK, including Scotland, will be rerouted this weekend to other testing centres in the UK and Northern Ireland.
The statement added: "It is important to note that the majority of these tests are still well within the 24 and 48 hour timeframe for results albeit we do expect to see an increase in the level of positives on Monday and Tuesday when the results are reported.
"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 out with Scotland."
It stated that the Scottish Government was continuing to reroute routine testing of care home staff through NHS Scotland testing facilities to ensure prompt turnaround times.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “This claim is categorically untrue. 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.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel