Decision to quarantine would not be taken lightly

Sturgeon says she will not shy away from efforts aimed at protecting public health

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will not shy away from taking a decision to impose quarantine on English visitors to Scotland, but neither will it be a decision she takes lightly.

Asked on the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show yesterday about the possibility of self-isolation for visitors from south of the border, the first minister said the UK nations need to work together on outbreak management in a way that “mitigates against having to put any border restrictions in place”.

She said she is not “immediately planning” to implement a quarantine policy but will “take decisions the best I can to protect the health of Scotland and to take that absolutely from a public health perspective”.

It comes as the latest figures showed there have been no new coronavirus deaths in Scotland for a fourth day in a row but the number of new cases has climbed to a three-week high.

A total of 2,490 people have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, no change on Saturday’s figure.

Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government has to take a “very close look” to make sure the virus is not coming into Scotland from other parts of the UK.

“This is not about saying to people in England ‘You are not welcome in Scotland’ – of course people in England are welcome in Scotland,” she said.

“This is not about politics, it’s not about a constitutional agenda, it’s just about taking decisions to protect people in Scotland as much as possible from Covid.”

She said she would like to see the UK Government be more explicit that it is trying to get to levels of coronavirus that are “virtually elimination levels”.

“We need to be sure that any outbreaks in England are being properly managed, just as England will want to be sure that any outbreaks in Scotland are properly managed,” she said.

“It’s when there isn’t that confidence that the concerns about possible importation would grow.”

The Scottish Government has been criticised for its policy early in the pandemic of discharging hospital patients into care homes without being tested for coronavirus.

Almost half (46%) of Covid-19 deaths in Scotland relate to care homes, according to the National Records of Scotland.

Asked about the government’s record, Ms Sturgeon said she regrets and apologises for every death.

But she added: “What I absolutely refute is that there was some particular problem in Scotland or that we didn’t take great care.”

Picture: PA. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon underlined that visitors from elsewhere in the UK are very welcome.