Jeane Freeman, the Scottish Health Secretary, has said mobile units will start carrying out tests in care homes from next week. 

The mobile units will be set up by the military she told BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland. 

Jeane Freeman said: “We anticipate in the coming week we will have five of those and that is to be followed by a further eight.”

She said the new units would offer “more direct mobile testing”.

The announcement comes after details of coronavirus related deaths in care homes were revealed earlier this week. 

READ MORE: Coronavirus deaths in Glasgow care homes hit 71 - new figures reveal

The Glasgow Times told on Wednesday that there have been 71 deaths in care homes since the start of the outbreak. 

According to the data released by the National Record of Scotland, a third of all registered deaths involving COVID-19 occurred in care homes. 

Commenting on the statistics, Jeane Freeman said that care homes "should not have seen the level of transmission" experienced. 

The Department for Health and Social Care confirmed that at least 96 mobile units will be ready to be deployed across the UK by the start of May. 

The new units will test essential workers and vulnerable people in areas where there is “significant” demand, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

The mobile facilities can be set up by the millitary in less than 20 minutes and allow for hundreds of people to be tested each day.