SCOTS have had trouble trying to book Covid-19 tests over the weekend due to a “major spike in demand”, Nicola Sturgeon has suggested.
The First Minister said that a UK-wide spike in people attempting to obtain a test for the virus led to a “surge of calls” and the resulting “technical issues”.
She confirmed that 11 local “walk-through” centres will be opened across Scotland, with the first in St Andrews being set up ahead of students returning to university.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Over the weekend, there was a major spike in demand for testing – not just in Scotland, but we think across the UK.
“That led to some constraints on the booking portal throughout the day yesterday and that, in turn, resulted in a surge of calls to our Covid-19 helpline.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon 'causing confusion' as face coverings to be used in high schools and buses
“I know this will have been frustrating for people trying to book a test, so I want to thank everyone for bearing with us as we’ve worked to address these issues.”
The First Minister stressed that “contingency plans are already being activated” in order to increase Scotland’s test capacity, including three mobile testing units being deployed to Glasgow and the central belt.
One of the mobile testing units will be available from Tuesday afternoon while the other two will be deployed later this week, increasing capacity by between 1,200 and 1,500 tests.
The move follows some people from Scotland appearing to have been wrongly directed to testing centres in England in recent days.
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