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Ian Murray, Scottish shadow secretary at work, wrote to the Prime Minister asking when he learned of the outbreak, and whether the introduction of blocking measures when the coronavirus was discovered in Scotland could have saved more lives. When asked about the COVID-19 outbreak related to the Nike conference at the Hilton Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh on February 26-27, Sturgeon rejected suggestions of a cover-up as “complete nonsense.”
A BBC Disclosure documentary suggested that a visiting assistant transmitted the virus, and investigations found that at least 25 people linked to the event contracted the disease, including eight in Scotland.
Speaking at the Scottish government press conference on Tuesday, Sturgeon said the details were not made public due to concerns about patient confidentiality, which the South Edinburgh MP describes as “difficult to understand” given the size of the population of the city.
In his letter, Mr. Murray said: “It seems to me, and to the people of Edinburgh, that your government kept this outbreak from the public when it clearly would have been in the public interest to inform them.
“A few weeks ago you said you wanted an ‘adult conversation’ with the public on COVID-19.
“So I am forced to ask why do you think the people of Edinburgh are not old enough to be informed of a major outbreak of the virus in their own city center?”
Murray added: “There are many reasons why there is public concern about this cover-up.
“At the time of this outbreak in February, we were still several weeks away from closing.
“It is now evident that his government was too slow to enter the blockade, but if this information had been made public at the time, then we could have done so sooner and saved more lives.”
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An angry woman said it was “shameful” that the details of the outbreak were not made public in the interest of public safety.
She said: “Nicola should have told the leaders of the other nations what had happened.
“All the information should have been released and the implications of this have now reached four nations. Shameful.”
Another person said that under no circumstances should Ms. Sturgeon be “released” from the matter.
He said, “Please don’t leave them alone with this.
“If it were any other responsible Party, Sturgeon would have his mob barking in the streets outraged.
“Opposition parties must get them on the job.”
The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Scotland was at Tayside on March 1.
The case is believed to have involved someone who had traveled from Italy.
No link has been established between the infected person and the Edinbugh conference.
Mass gatherings in Scotland were not banned until March 16 and the closure took effect on March 23.
A Scottish government spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister said, all appropriate measures were taken to ensure the protection of public health.
“The group at highest risk for COVID-19 was identified and all contacts were tracked, so public health authorities were satisfied that there was no further risk of infection. NHS Lothian and the City of Edinburgh also worked closely with the conference venue to provide advice to delegates’ close contacts and infection prevention and control considerations.
“All cases linked to this event were tracked by their close contact with this case, or contact with conference delegates who tested positive after the event. Therefore, it is not an example of community transmission, which would require a confirmed case, with no known history of international travel to a risk area, or a link for a close contact of that case.
“As the Health Secretary made clear yesterday, the Scottish Government has been completely consistent in its handling and publication of information related to positive COVID-19 cases in Scotland.
“All contact-related cases were reported in a way that would ensure that the index case could not be identified, and this is the approach that the Scottish Government has consistently taken.”
