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Covid-19 testing 'a vital missing link' for tourism and hospitality sector


By Alan Hendry

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David Whiteford, chairman of the North Highland Initiative, says early Covid-19 testing of staff would mean the chances of a second wave of the virus taking hold via the hospitality sector would be unlikely.
David Whiteford, chairman of the North Highland Initiative, says early Covid-19 testing of staff would mean the chances of a second wave of the virus taking hold via the hospitality sector would be unlikely.

Leading figures in tourism and hospitality in the north Highlands are asking the Scottish Government to provide urgent access to Covid-19 testing to help protect staff, visitors and communities before hotels are allowed to reopen next week.

Co-ordinated by David Whiteford, chairman of the North Highland Initiative, businesses have written to Scotland's health secretary Jeane Freeman calling on her to grant immediate access to the Inverness UHI test centre which is said to have spare capacity.

Supporters of the letter include Murray Lamont from Mackays Hotel in Wick and Tanja Lister of the Kylesku Hotel in Sutherland.

Mr Whiteford said: “We welcome the continued support and sectoral guidance provided by the Scottish Government to help reopen tourism and hospitality in the north Highlands in a safe and measured way – but there is now a vital missing link that needs urgent attention, and that’s access to Covid-19 testing to help protect our staff, visitors and local communities.

“With only a week until hotels are allowed to reopen on July 15, it’s more important than ever that the Scottish Government acts now while there’s still time to put a routine testing programme in place. While businesses are busily putting in place the required new protocols to ensure the ongoing safety of our teams, guests and communities, we believe it would be of enormous benefit to supplement this with access to testing.

“Not only do our teams work in close contact with members of the public, but many of these roles are provided with in live-in accommodation. As these teams return from their homes to rejoin businesses for reopening, it would seem sensible and prudent to ensure that we can demonstrate they are currently clear of the virus.

The Inverness UHI Covid-19 test centre.
The Inverness UHI Covid-19 test centre.

“Early Covid-19 testing of staff would also mean that the chances of a second wave of the virus taking hold via the hospitality sector would be unlikely as it would be extinguished at an early stage. It would be a great pity if all the good work that has been undertaken by Scottish Government so far to support the hospitality sector in these dire times would be undone by not addressing this missing link.”

Murray Lamont said: “To have the facility to have staff tested would be a huge benefit for us and would also provide comfort for our customers and reinforce that the north Highlands is a safe place to visit.”

Tanja Lister said: “Our industry faces very uncertain times. Not only do we feel a great weight of responsibility for the safety of our teams and our guests but also for our communities – where there is already a heightened anxiety about the return of tourism.

"Having the ability to test our teams, especially those in live-in positions, would be an enormous confidence boost and reassurance. Crucially, it would allow us to detect any issues very early on, preventing a local outbreak and also a large second spike which would close our businesses down once more. I'm not sure many would survive this scenario.”


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