Ross County coronavirus testing machine can be shared with Highland athletes
- Published
'We need speed of testing' - County's MacGregor
Ross County will offer use of their new coronavirus testing machine to other Highland sports people and say each test takes 20 minutes.
The club return to training next week and the Scottish Premiership hopes to begin the 2020-21 season on 1 August.
County have shipped their testing apparatus in from South Korea.
"We don't have to wait for 24, 48, 72 hours," said chairman Roy MacGregor. "Within 20 minutes, the test will give us a positive or a negative."
And he added on BBC Scotland's The Nine: "It's imperative that all 12 clubs in the Premiership have testing in whatever way - whether it's third party, their own or shared. If one of your club fails a test, the whole club will have to go into quarantine for 14 days, which rules out playing."
MacGregor explained how other athletes in County's local area could benefit from the testing machine.
"If there's people wanting to get their living out of professional sport, we're quite willing to share the testing machine and they would just pay for the test," he explained.
"Although it's bought for Ross County, we see it very much in a Highland scenario. I'm sure the lower-league clubs can do that within their own sphere and maybe share a machine.
"The testing machine can do a number of tests, not just for Covid-19. It can do a blood test, it can do a saliva test. In the long term, these types of machines will just become part of football clubs."
On Saturday's Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland, MacGregor revealed some of the costs associated with the testing machine.
"For 30 people, players and staff, to be tested twice a week will cost me £3,000 per week," he said. "The machine cost £35,000."