BT Murrayfield in 'state of readiness' for Scottish Government should extra hospital capacity be needed during Covid-19 pandemic

BT Murrayfield stadium is in a “state of readiness” for the Scottish Government should extra hospital capacity be needed to treat people affected by coronavirus.
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Scottish Rugby’s official Facebook and twitter accounts shared a post along with a picture of a sunny Murrayfield on Monday.

It said: “The sun is beating down on BT Murrayfield this morning.

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“The stadium is in a state of readiness for the Scottish Government, if extra hospital capacity should be needed to treat those affected by coronavirus.”

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No significant preparations have yet been at BT Murrayfield but, should it ever be required, the stadium’s pitch may not necessarily be used to site a temporary hospital. The facility’s car park space and conference rooms might, for instance, be used for other reasons like coronavirus testing or logistics and planning.

Scottish Rugby had offered the stadium to the Scottish Government before the lockdown period started on March 23rd - but the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital has since been built in Glasgow to provide more than 1,000 additional beds. The work was done over 18 days after the British Army carried out a feasibility study.

The Scottish Government say they hope not to use the £43 million facility at the SEC Campus, with ongoing lockdown measures slowing the rate of transmission of the virus across Scotland.

However BT Murrayfield will remain at the disposal of the Scottish Government should they need it, for instance, if a second wave of the virus led to more people being affected by coronavirus.