The Scottish Conservatives will today (Tuesday) urge the SNP Government to wind-up Test and Protect and redirect funds to other areas of Scotland’s NHS.
On Tuesday, the party will publish a new blueprint for living with Covid, titled “Back to Normality”.
The policy paper will urge the government to change its approach to the virus and take a series of steps to start moving beyond Covid.
One of the paper’s central recommendations is to phase out Test and Protect, which would allow vital funds to be redirected towards tackling problems throughout Scotland's NHS.
The approach would move away from mass contract tracing towards representative sampling at a much lower cost.
The performance of Test and Protect has declined rapidly in recent months. Only around 40 per cent of cases were being reached during the peak of Omicron, and many people are still only being contacted by text message.
The service has also become less useful now that PCR tests are not necessary to confirm someone has Covid.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: “This policy paper is a blueprint for how we return to normality in the near future.
“We are urging the government to adopt a new, more targeted approach to Covid. We would place a higher emphasis on protecting vulnerable groups and trusting the public, instead of blanket restrictions such as mandating face masks in classrooms.
“One of the key proposals is replacing Test and Protect. It was incredibly useful in earlier stages of the pandemic but it has become increasingly redundant in recent months.
“We are nearing the point where Test and Protect is no longer an effective use of scarce NHS resources.
“As we start to move beyond the pandemic, our approach must adapt to fit the new situation.”