Greens call for transparency on self isolation support
Numbers of people receiving practical support to safely self-isolate should be published to measure the effectiveness of the test and trace system, the Scottish Greens have said.
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell raised the issue at Holyrood’s COVID committee after MSPs rejected Green calls to make practical support universal in a vote yesterday.
Speaking afterwards, Mark Ruskell said: “The Scottish Government must ensure practical support for people to self-isolate is reaching people who need it when so many barriers remain.
“Greens have been raising the use of hotels for months, but we needed a freedom of information request to find out that only 7 people in 20 councils have had access to hotel support in this way.
“Self-isolation is a vital part of limiting the spread of the virus. But existing support seems to be reaching very few people, while too many people are being forced into impossible choices by employers between self-isolating and eating, or simply don’t have the physical space. We can only tackle this if we have the data to understand what is happening.”