Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed on Tuesday that she was advised not to inform the public about one of the first coronavirus outbreaks in Scotland, but denies concealing the crisis.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said during a daily coronavirus briefing that an earlier release of information regarding an outbreak at an Edinburgh hotel in February would have risked breaching patient confidentiality due to the small number of confirmed cases.
"I was satisfied then and I am satisfied now that all appropriate steps were taken”, she said.
"At the time I probed whether we should be putting more information into the public domain. The advice, which is advice I accepted, is that it was not appropriate."
She described accusations of a "cover-up" as "nonsense" and "highly politicised".
Nicola Sturgeon has rejected claims of a “cover-up” after an outbreak of coronavirus was linked to a Nike conference in Edinburgh at the end of February. https://t.co/uSNfG25VpA pic.twitter.com/cyMdvyG4tM
— STV News (@STVNews) May 12, 2020
The First Minister's comments follow a BBC investigation which revealed that a Nike conference hosted by Hilton Carlton Hotel in the Scottish capital saw 25 people become infected with Covid-19, including eight in Scotland.
The Disclosure programme said that a visiting attendee passed the virus onto fellow Nike employees, many of whom would later return to their home countries.
Ian Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South, said the report revealed that the government had been involved in “a cover up” in the early stages of the outbreak in Scotland.
There was a large outbreak of Corona Virus at a Nike conference in Edinburgh back in Feb infecting 25 ppl. A @BBCScotland documentary by @BBCMarkDaly shows the Scottish Govt did not tell the public & didn't lock down until weeks later despite what was happening internationally. pic.twitter.com/dfnGrg0tWJ
— Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) May 12, 2020
The first case of the virus was confirmed in Tayside on 1 March. Mass gatherings were not prohibited until 16 March and lockdown measures were ultimately introduced on 23 March.
Sturgeon has announced that £50 million will be injected into the social care sector, which has been under significant pressure as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
A small business grants scheme of £31 million will also be issued to more than 3,000 properties currently owned by charities, day centres, halls, and workshops.
