Edinburgh kilt-maker hired for Covid-19 hit Nike Conference reveals Government did not try to trace her

The revelations come after it emerged there were 25 confirmed cases globally after 70 delegates gathered for the meeting

A kilt-maker hired to fit delegates at a conference believed to be Scotland's 'ground zero' in the spread of coronavirus has broken her silence to reveal government failings to contact trace since the outbreak – meaning she could have unwittingly spread the virus at home and abroad.

Gillian Russell had to take time off with flu-like symptoms shortly after spending more than an hour fitting kilts for ten conference attendees at an Edinburgh hotel in February, right at the beginning of the outbreak in Scotland.

It has since emerged there were 25 confirmed cases globally after 70 delegates gathered for the meeting and six of the eight confirmed Scots Covid-19 cases connected to the Nike conference were attendees, while the other two were secondary contacts. Details of the event were not made public at the time.

Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government have been scrutinised over its handling of the coronavirus-hit event in the last few weeks

With no knowledge of the outbreak at the time, the Edinburgh resident who suffers from asthma, continued her life as normal including embarking on a trip to Portugal with her fiancee in mid-March.

After reading reports on how the Scottish Government has been scrutinised over its handling of the coronavirus-hit event in the last few weeks, Ms Russell has now come forward to criticise its lack of “rigorous” contact tracing which left her and many others she came into contact with at risk of contracting Covid-19.

“There are questions that need to be answered for me,” she said.

“The government and chief medical officer said that vigorous attempts were made to trace everyone that had contact with these delegates. That is simply not true in my case.

“I have remained anonymous on this so far but I have decided to speak out.

“Why was I never informed that I had been put at risk and potentially had the virus? This was all happening while I was living my life as normal, mixing with family and friends, attending events and going on holiday abroad, why?”

Ms Russell said neither her nor her colleagues at the kilt making business were warned about the outbreak, despite Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that “contact tracing was done rigorously in this situation".

“I had a bout of illness within a few days of this kilt fitting with flu symptoms and I had to use my asthma inhaler much more frequently,” she said.

“Thankfully I didn’t develop further symptoms, but surely I should have been informed that I had been put at risk and been given the opportunity to be tested?

“Why did nobody contact me, or my colleagues, as part of tracking and tracing?”

So far, the first minister has denied making mistakes and said information was not made public at the time for "legitimate" reasons of patient confidentiality.

But Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray has accused Ms Sturgeon of a "catastrophic error of judgement" and questions were raised at Holyrood over the Scottish Government's “rigorous” tracing system following the conference.

He has since thanked Ms Russell for speaking out and demanded Ms Sturgeon responds to questions that remain unanswered about the event.

He said: “Gillian’s personal story exposes why the SNP Government made a fundamental error by deciding not to tell the public about this outbreak.

“Not only was Gillian ill after fitting delegates for kilts with no idea why, she was at risk of passing the virus on to relatives and people she was in contact with.

“She deserves answers from Nicola Sturgeon. Why did you cover-up this outbreak, why did you keep people like Gillian in the dark, and why did your government not seek the help of the public so that all people potentially infected could have been contact traced? The information would also have allowed Gillian to make her own decisions about whether to see others or go to public events.

“As the government belatedly introduces a test, trace, isolate strategy, the First Minister should learn from her errors and apply those lessons to the national response to COVID-19 so that we all get through this together.”

At least 25 people were infected after the conference organised by Nike in Edinburgh on February 26 and 27.

Ministers confirmed what was thought to be Scotland’s first case just a week later.

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.