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It's believed that one of the 29 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Edinburgh and the Lothians is a Scottish Government worker based in Leith.

The Edinburgh Evening News have reported that the senior officer at Victoria Quay in Leith was sent home on Thursday, with her bosses tracking down people who had come into contact with her on a training course.

She reportedly told her employers that she had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus, and went into self-isolation as a result, handing them a list of all of the courses she had been on and colleagues she had been in contact with over the past week.

Her department was then notified when she went on to test positive for COVID-19, but the Evening News say that many staff were criticising the decision not to share that information more quickly or more widely.

A Scottish Government spokesperson told Edinburgh Evening News: “The wellbeing of our staff is a priority. We have well established plans and processes in place to support staff who may be affected by an outbreak of this nature and to ensure the Scottish Government can continue its work for the people of Scotland.

“For data protection reasons we cannot give out information which would identify any patients. This includes details such as their location, place of work, health board area and ethnicity.

“Current guidance is that offices do not need to close in the event of coronavirus cases. In line with NHS advice we have enhanced the cleaning of areas where there has been a suspected or confirmed case and, as part of our business continuity planning, we have home working options in place, particularly for colleagues with underlying health conditions who may be at higher risk or for staff who have been advised to self-isolate.”

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