Question reference: S6W-02806
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 9 September 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 September 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is following World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control COVID-19 contact guidance that (a) contact tracing should include contacts in school, including classmates, teachers and other staff and (b) as well as testing all contacts with symptoms, there should be quarantining and testing of asymptomatic high-risk exposure contacts, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to follow the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Covid-19 contact tracing guidance as well as recent evidence on the impact of vaccination in protecting the population from harm and latest evidence on infection and transmission in children and young people. Contact tracing continues to include all contacts in school with public health advice provided on the basis of whether a contact is ‘high-risk’ or ‘low-risk’ with low-risk contacts being identified by schools and receiving targeted ‘Information’ letters. People identified as asymptomatic high-risk exposure contacts, regardless of age, continue to be advised to isolate and to take a PCR test.
The changes made to contact tracing and isolation policy from 9 August continue to deliver an effective public health intervention whilst balancing the risk of health harms across the population with the harms caused by prolonged self-isolation of children and young people.