Staff at a vaccination centre are being warned to be on guard for potentially dangerous razor blades stuck behind posters by anti-vaccine protestors.
The warning was sent by a security and events firm to people working in the former John Lewis building in Aberdeen.
The message from Showsec management, seen by us, follows protests in the city and reports of the dangerous threat in London.
It states: “For all the staff involved in the vaccination centre, [there] have been reports regarding anti vaccinators putting up signage at other venues displaying anti vaccination messages, [there] have been reports of razor blades being stuck in behind the signs to cause harm or injury to anyone who tries to remove them.
“If we do discover signage of this nature please do not remove them but contact the centre manager and alert them of the signage.”
Woman injured in Cardiff
The company confirmed it was “an awareness message” for staff, adding: “We are not aware of any issues relating to this in the area.”
Last month scores of people marched through town from the Castlegate to the George Street building – while the number of people seriously ill with Covid was at a seven-month high.
But there has been no suggestion of any direct threats to anyone in Aberdeen.
It’s very distressing to hear that these staff and volunteers have had to receive this cautionary warning.
– Aberdeen MSP Jackie Dunbar
It was reported last month that a woman in Cardiff was cut by a razor blade glued to the back of a Covid misinformation poster.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union raised the issue of “Masks Don’t Work” posters with Transport for London.
‘Distressing’
Aberdeen Donside SNP MSP Jackie Dunbar said she’s grateful to Showsec management for providing reassurance over the “distressing” blade warning.
“The staff and volunteers who are working at our vaccination centres have done a phenomenal job over the past months – working tirelessly to get millions of us, across the country, vaccinated so that we can protect each other and try to get back to some sort of normality,” she said.
“It’s very distressing to hear that these staff and volunteers have had to receive this cautionary warning like this because of a small minority of people who are prepared to physically harm people who are working to protect us all – their safety should never be in question.
“I am grateful to management for reaching out to everyone working at the centres, to provide some reassurance to them, and sincerely hope that we do not see any occurrences of this disgusting practice.”