AN SNP council leader was among the first people to get tested for Covid-19 at a new asymptomatic testing centre set up at Scotland’s largest mosque.
Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said the tests for people who have not shown symptoms of the coronavirus are "quick and straightforward" and a way to help bring virus numbers down.
She took the test at Glasgow Central Mosque along with one of its committee members, Nafees Ahmad.
The site, along with one at Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre, is the latest to be set up in the city with tests being administered by the army, aiming to identify those who are infectious and unknowingly spreading coronavirus.
Aitken said: “I’ve never had any symptoms, I’ve never had any hint that I might have Covid but we know that lots of people are out there and are carrying Covid but they don’t know about it and they’ve not had any symptoms.
“So by getting the test, if I get a positive test, I’ll self-isolate right away so it takes me out of circulation and it lowers that risk of me passing it on to someone else.
“It’s a way of contributing to continuing to bringing the virus numbers down. It was quick and straightforward, very easy – not the nicest thing I’ve ever done but really not that unpleasant.
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“Anyone that’s able to pop along – and there’s been a steady stream of folk popping in all day, please do take the opportunity to come along – it’s quick, you get your results very quickly and you’ll know one way or another.”
Ahmad said leaders at the mosque offered the community hall as a testing site.
He said: “There’s a number of reasons why we wanted to get involved. One is as Muslims we are taught to look after our neighbours and do things that benefit mankind in general so this was a way to do that in the current situation.”
He said another reason was they are unable to use the hall due to restrictions and thought this way it could be of help to the community.
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Ahmad urged those eligible to come and get tested, adding: “The more testing that we can do – as the World Health Organisation said at the beginning of the pandemic – the better you know what transmission rates are like and the more steps and measures can be put in place.
“So more testing would mean better control of the virus and less people hopefully getting unwell.”
Swabs from lateral flow tests do not need to be sent to labs for analysis and the results should be known within an hour.
Similar test facilities will be set up in other Glasgow neighbourhoods in the coming weeks.
Wastewater tests and the most up-to-date data will be used to identify communities where asymptomatic testing is needed.
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