Scottish Labour Deputy Leader, Jackie Baillie is calling on the Scottish Government to deliver their target of 2,000 contact tracers as Covid19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Ms Baillie said: “The number of contact tracers is a drop in the ocean of what is required to effectively manage this virus. Under ten per cent of the promised number are working at the National Contact Tracing Centre with the rest spread across health boards and are pulled from other NHS services which will be under mounting pressure.

“The small number of staff following up on inbound passengers through airports is also woeful with only 25 to be in place by October, this is an inevitable source for new infections and must be properly managed.

“It’s clear that the recruitment drive at the start was just not good enough so I urge the SNP to do all they can to build these numbers up as the pandemic rises again and we head into the winter period.”