FIFE COUNCIL is already facing additional costs of £30 million due to COVID-19 and plans to ease the country out of lockdown are set to add to the financial burden.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a "key aspect" of the next phase of the Scottish Government's response to the virus was the 'Test, Trace, Isolate, Support' (TTIS) strategy.

The aim is to reduce the risk of the disease spreading but it will likely lead to increased demand as more people in self-isolation turn to cash-strapped local authorities for food and other essentials.

The council's chief executive, Steve Grimmond, said the full implications were still to be realised and explained: "It is expected a significant number of residents will be encouraged to isolate and may need support.

“It’s the isolate and support element the council is exploring in detail as part of the whole exercise.

“We’re looking at how we can utilise the existing model of shielding support to help individuals who may be identified under the test and trace initiative and there may well be additional costs related to that.”

The council has already contacted all 11,445 people on the extended shielding list and more than 540 food parcels have been delivered.

TTIS involves testing people for COVID-19 – and anyone aged five and over who has symptoms can now get tested – tracing the people an infected person has come into contact with, and then help and support the infected person and those contacts to go into self-isolation so there's less risk of passing on the virus.

As part of the new strategy, NHS Fife will pass on details of people "who need to isolate quickly after contact tracing and who may need the same kind of support as those shielding".

NHS Fife is one of three health boards currently trialling contact tracing technology, an app which is designed to let people know if they've come into close contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus.

It would help pinpoint who needs to be in isolation and who doesn't, a key aspect in helping to ease social distancing measures.

Last week, the council said the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic was estimated to be £30m in additional costs, and that's just for 14 weeks of lockdown, with the final bill expected to be "far higher".

There's also a separate £26.8m needed to fund the mobilisation plan for the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership.

Including support for the economy and businesses, Fife has received about £81m from the Scottish Government and further support is expected.

At last week's policy and co-ordination committee, council co-leader Councillor David Ross said: "It's unlikely we'll get funding to cover all of our costs.

“One thing I’m clear on is that should not be at the expense of our staff.

“We need to recognise that we need our staff. We need the commitment and work they are going to do to come out of this recovery.

“It has brought into sharp focus the importance of, particularly, our low-paid staff and the vital role they play in looking after our communities.”

Fellow co-leader, Cllr David Alexander, added: "Are we going to have enough? I don't know at this stage.

"It's still very early days and I think by next month's meeting we'll have a better indication.

"There is still money sitting in Holyrood to get redistributed."

Eileen Rowand, head of revenue and shared services, said: "The report outlines the costs we're anticipating to the end of June but it's quite apparent the figure will be far higher."

She added: "It's very challenging but I'm sure we'll be able to deal with it."