Expert: Highlands could have been better protected from coronavirus

The Highlands could have been better protected from coronavirus at the start of the outbreak, a leading public health expert has said.

Dr Allyson Pollock wrote to the First Minister urging her to cordon off rural areas with little or no cases weeks ago but received no response.

The Edinburgh-based academic, who is Professor of Public Health at Newcastle University, has criticised the Scottish Government’s “London-centric” approach.

The Scottish Government defended the strategy which, a spokeswoman said, was based on advice from clinicians and public health experts.

But Dr Pollock insisted schools and businesses could have stayed open in the Highlands and Islands when there were little or no Covid-19 cases.

Dr Pollock said: “The Scottish Government has listened to central diktat and allowed a very London-centric approach to this. I would have expected earlier moves by the Scottish Government to restrict entry into Scotland, and to do contact tracing.

“I don’t know why there weren’t discussion about whether the Highlands and Islands could have been protected. You could have cut off those communities.”

The Scottish Government said a reply would be sent to Dr Pollock “in due course”, adding that the current testing strategy is “correct” and testing capacity in NHS labs is to be “ramped up”.

They said: “The decision to close schools was based on clear scientific advice.”