Jeane Freeman has been challenged over quarantine contact tracing and care home staff testing, amid claims targets are not being met.
The Health Secretary was tackled on the two issues when she made a statement to Holyrood updating MSPs on efforts to remobilise the NHS during the coronavirus crisis.
Lib Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said data from the official Covid-19 Statistical Report on quarantine checks on international travellers were “deeply troubling”.
Mr Cole-Hamilton pointed out that target was to contact 20% of those expected to quarantine, to check that they were self-isolating.
But, he said, it was “now known that tracers were following up with only half that number”.
Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “More worryingly, tracers are unable to find a large proportion of those who are supposed to be in quarantine.”
Mr Cole-Hamilton asked Ms Freeman why it was “we are getting this so wrong”.
Ms Freeman said it was her understanding that staff, through Public Health Scotland, were reaching 20%.
She added that if tracers were unable to find individuals then information was passed on to Police Scotland.
“That is the right thing to do because quarantining is critically important.”
Ms Freeman pledged to check the figures and if they were wrong she would correct the Holyrood record.
Meanwhile, Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said his party was concerned testing of care home staff for Covid-19 remains “unacceptably low”.
According to the Higlands MSP, the latest figures showed around 16,600 care home staff were not tested.
“This is completely indefensible and a failure which lands squarely at the feet of the Cabinet Secretary,” Mr Cameron said.
But Ms Freeman said it was “unrealistic” to expect 100% of care home staff to be tested on a weekly basis.
“Staff may be on annual leave, sick leave. They may be on maternity leave and they may indeed be on different rota patterns. So in discussions with Scottish Care and others the percentage we look to is 70% or more. And in recent weeks we have overshot that 70%,” the Health Secretary said.
Ms Freeman said there were still some staff refusing to take the tests, which are not compulsory.
Work was being undertaken to tackle the problem of people refusing to be tested, perhaps because they do not receive sick pay.