The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scots holidaymakers could be hit by unexpected quarantine
Scottish holidaymakers could face an unexpected quarantine for 14 days when they return home because exemption rules could change at any time, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.
The first minister said people looking to book a trip “cannot do it on the basis of certainty that because the country you might be travelling to is exempt from quarantine when you want to go there, that it will still be exempt when you come back”.
She said: “My advice to anyone looking to travel overseas is to think very carefully about that and perhaps if your trip is not essential then perhaps not to commit to it right now.
“And if you want to take a holiday over the remainder of the summer, perhaps think about doing that in Scotland.”
People arriving in Scotland from a list of “air bridge” countries do not currently have to quarantine but Ms
Sturgeon warned outbreaks of the virus at home or abroad could quickly trigger a change of the rules.
The first minister has been asked to release the scientific evidence behind her decision to initially quarantine travellers arriving from Spain and subsequent plan to lift the restrictions.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie wrote to Ms Sturgeon to raise concerns about the decisions, citing reports the infection rate in Spain is now three times higher than when quarantine measures were imposed.
Ms Sturgeon said Spain’s infection rate is “now very close to ours”.
She added: “That said, and I want to stress this point not just in relation to Spain but generally, these situations are not cast in stone.
“There is a lot of volatility around this virus across the world right now.
“All of these decisions are subject to change, and could be subject to change on very short notice.”