Question reference: S5W-34268
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in any nosocomial infections in Scotland, and how many such infections have been identified.
Answer
The epidemiology for the new variant of COVID-19 is being monitored by the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland service for new confirmed variant cases and is being assessed for hospital onset status. As the validated data become available from Health Boards, new cases will be assessed for their hospital onset status. ARHAI are exploring other possible routes to determine the hospital onset status of new variant cases more rapidly should there be an ongoing need to track nosocomial transmission, in addition to extant monitoring (hospital onset surveillance and clusters reporting system).
Should cases of the new variant be identified, advice from Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) experts in Scotland, as well as the UK IPC cell, is that there is no change to the existing IPC guidance. Robust IPC measures remain of paramount importance for reducing nosocomial transmission. This includes the appropriate use of PPE, the extended use of face masks, physical distancing, good ventilation, increased environmental cleaning, symptom vigilance, good hand hygiene and good respiratory etiquette.
The Scottish COVID-19 Addendum in the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual should be followed, which can be found at: http://www.nipcm.hps.scot.nhs.uk/scottish-covid-19-infection-prevention-and-control-addendum-for-acute-settings/