SUMMER FORECAST Major storms
Tourism risk sparks concern in Scottish communities
New Scottish Covid-19 hotspot is identified as country prepares to open for business
CONCERNS over whether Scotland is safe enough for an influx of tourists from south of the Border have emerged as worries grow about whether the nation has a fit-for-purpose coronavirus testing regime as new hotspots loom.
The Herald on Sunday can reveal that NHS Forth Valley has become a new hotspot for coronavirus cases – with half of the 12 new reported Covid-19 cases for the whole of Scotland on Friday alone found in the area.
The Scottish Government has already had to take action to deal with a cluster of coronavirus cases in the Annan and Gretna areas of Dumfries and Galloway, bringing in restrictions to the distance people can travel for leisure purposes.
In the past week, according to official figures there has been a spike of seven more Covid-19 cases registered in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, which provides healthcare for 148,000 people.
On Friday, Scotland’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, said 23 people were traced through the contacttracing system.
Coronavirus travel restrictions are not being lifted in the affected area, unlike the rest of Scotland where people can now travel more than five miles.
Council chief Elaine Murray condemned the “social gatherings which shouldn’t have taken place” for potentially spreading the virus.
Joan McAlpine, the SNP MSP for South Scotland, warned: “If people are coming to these areas of Dumfries and Galloway for a self-catering holiday this weekend they can go ahead. But they are not allowed to travel more than five miles for leisure. This outbreak underlines the importance of following the rules.”
As as of Friday, NHS Forth Valley, which serves a population of 306,000, saw a spike of 10 – with six reported on Friday alone. The rise over the week is identical to that in Scotland’s biggest board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which provides healthcare for more than four times the number of people.
The latest analysis of Scotland’s trackand-trace performance shows that despite an expansion in testing facilities, the carrying out of checks against capacity continues to flatline.
Latest official figures show that while the Scottish Government has ramped up laboratory facilities to meet its target to have the ability to do 15,500 daily tests across Scotland to deliver Test and Protect, in the past week it has been running at little over a quarter of capacity, with an average of 4,296 checks a day in hospitals, care homes or the community.
Scotland was testing at little over a third of its capacity on the three days after the First Minister said the ability to screen had been ramped up in preparation for the national Test and Protect scheme going live on May 28.
With the Scottish tourism industry beginning to reopen and the nation preparing to ease travel restrictions and self-catering holiday accommodation allowed to reopen, islanders have raised worries about an influx of visitors from south of the Border who who could spread the virus.
The Scottish Islands Federation said it had “much sympathy” with a petition launched by a woman from the Inner Hebrides who was accused of racism after fighting for Scotland-only visitors.
With an indication that a full reopening could happen on July 15, one petition launched on Colonsay by resident Jen MacNeill has received over 2,500 signatures and sparked what she described as an islands “civil war”.
It calls on the Scottish and UK Governments to provide “a designated route map” out of lockdown and provide financial assistance to encourage the tourism industry to open in a controlled way. It also calls on each individual island to decide the best route out of lockdown.
Camille Dressler, chairman of the federation said there were worries that the “pent-up demand from people down south” will put communities at risk through a spread of Covid-19.
She said: “This transition from lockdown is a very difficult time as people are having to balance conflicting demands. The fact is the islands are having to respond to the very detailed instructions for reopening safely facilities such as public toilets, restaurants and cafes, hotels and museums and that for many businesses these instructions are so demanding that they prefer not to open at all.
“Not every business will have the cash to invest in the new equipment or the extra staff that may be required.
“So the danger for many of the smaller island communities is that their safety – and particularly the safety of those who are more at risk – might be compromised if there is a sudden influx of visitors who may be carrying the virus without knowing it.
“For this reason, many islands are reluctant to welcome daytrippers or campers yet, whereas visitors staying in self-catering accommodation are considered to pose a lesser risk, especially when there are limited health services available. This may appear as discriminatory to some, but hopefully this is something that most people understand. As a federation we hope that the public at large will help keep the islands special and safe, and understand that not all islands are ready to open up as fully as some would expect them too.”
She welcomed a plan on Orkney where tourists are to be given warning letters amid fears that the islands could open up to Covid-19 with the easing of lockdown.
The letter has been produced by Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney ahead of the expected relaxation of travel restrictions in mid-July.
It will be handed to passengers using NorthLink Ferries, Pentland Ferries and airline Loganair.
Council leader James Stockan said it hoped to have introduced an “extra level” of testing for Orkney but said it has not happened. “If we were doing that and we had a proper test-and-trace system in place on the islands, we could have opened up our economy much sooner,” he said. “We have tried right through the pandemic to engage with the Government. We wanted to try testing people coming in to Orkney before they even embarked on their journey and then a week again after they arrived. That was turned down. We were left dangling.”
The chairman of the Arran Economic Group, Tom Tracey, said Arran had been coronavirus-free for seven weeks and that the primary concern was to protect the health of Scotland’s islands.
He welcomed moves by the local health and social care partnership to create an Arran-based test-and-track operation that will support the local population and the “greatly reduced” number of visitors.
Last year, Arran had 440,000 visitors contributing £69 million to the local economy and employing 1,500 people.
With Covid-19, he believes that economic boost will be cut by more than half to £32m with a potential knock-on effect on island jobs.
“Opening up to the outside world is inevitable and this undoubtedly carries risk and folks are naturally concerned,” he said. “However, the best we can do is significantly limit the visitors numbers – social distancing on ferries will do that – keep the community informed and prepare as best we can with information, best practice, and Scottish Government and local health guidelines.
“Given all of the economics and employment issues, our primary concern remains the health of our community and, by implication, our visitors. We based our Arran Recovery Plan on health first and then balancing community, environments and economy.
“On a practical matter, it does not make any sense to restrict or welcome people to the island based on postcode. Again, the Government is best placed to do that through local lockdowns or guidance.”
Highland councillor John Finlayson, who lives on Skye, said he hoped everyone from tourists to tourism operators will “take seriously” the responsibilities they have to “prevent us having to return to lockdown at a later date, which would be catastrophic for everyone”.
Islands are having to respond to the very detailed instructions for reopening safely and for many businesses these are so demanding that they prefer not to open at all
“The economy of Skye is hugely dependent on tourism and we need to be acutely aware of the importance of safety and risk assessments as we move forward,” he said.
“Clearly, advice from the Scottish Government is key to what can and will happen but there is also a need for individual and collective responsibility in terms of how operators apply the guidance while also taking cognisance of what community feelings are.
“The majority of feedback I have received from across Skye recognises both the need for safety but also the need for life to return to some sort of normality within a context of following the health and safety, social distancing and hygiene rules that are in place.
“Skye welcomes tourists and the suggestion that initially we only have staycation tourism is one that needs discussed but as with all kinds of restrictions around free movement, implementation of checks and who carries them out will be the challenge.”
Ferry passengers have been urged to wear face coverings aboard CalMac vessels as the transport giant begins to increase services as Scotland emerges from the Covid-19 lockdown.
Face coverings are mandatory when travelling on enclosed areas inside a ferry, and on other forms of public transport.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “There is no known coronavirus cluster in NHS Forth Valley. Although there have been a number of confirmed cases in the past few days contact tracing has not identified a link between these cases. The situation continues to be monitored.
“Our highest priority is continuing to reduce transmission of Covid-19 and we will consider any measures that might contribute to reducing its spread. Test and Protect has been fully initiated in all 14 health boards, including NHS Forth Valley, and there is sufficient testing capacity within the health board to carry out all the appropriate testing required.
“We have established procedures for identifying localised outbreaks, and the implementation of Test and Protect is an important enhancement to this. Where local outbreaks occur, our actions will be guided by scientific evidence and the most up-to-date public health advice.
“We have seen the level of testing among care home residents and staff across Scotland significantly increase over the last two weeks and are working closely with health boards and care homes to support further increased testing.”
Orcadians welcome end of lockdown but concerns remain over boat capacity and health vulnerabilities
THERE are islands and then there are double islands.
As Scotland prepares to reopen for tourism, it is the second category that worries James Stockan.
The leader of Orkney Islands Council has to figure out how to maintain lifeline services to what he calls “our double insular places, the ones that take two journeys to get to”.
His concern? The need for social distancing has reduced capacity on the ferries which dart between Orkney’s outer islands. And that means tourists who book could take the seats of locals who do not.
Stockan thinks islands – not just his own archipelago – are going to struggle as Scots and visitors from further afield start trying to holiday again.
Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Scots to holiday in Scotland. But transport capacity may make that hard to do in the places where visitors – and their money – is most needed.
“We have some real challenges with opening up tourism, including boat capacity,” Stockan said.
“If we don’t change the social distancing rules, when tourists start travelling the locals may not get on the boats when they are needing to go to the mainland for medical appointments or other urgent business.”
The mainland he is referring to is Orkney’s, not Scotland’s. It is connected to the outer islands by an airline and a ferry company, Orkney Ferries. Both services would normally be heaving with people at this time of year.
Scottish Government rules mean passengers now have to be more spaced out and must wear face coverings – both on short hops to inner islands like Shapinsay and longer journeys to outer ones like North Ronaldsay.
There is no way to distinguish between passengers who are locals and those who are holidaymakers. Moreover, a local needing an urgent trip has no power to bump a visitor off a boat.
“It is a public service,” said Stockan. “If the boat is full, the boat is full. So, therefore, the more that tourism opens up, the more tourists will book ahead whereas locals won’t. If locals cannot get on the boat, we will have significant challenges.”
This is also true on the big ferries – most of the heavy lifting is done by NorthLink – carrying people between Orkney and the Scottish mainland.
Here, too, capacity is an issue because of social distancing. And that presents a huge dilemma to tourism businesses on the islands: will enough people make it across the Pentland Firth to make it worthwhile opening up?
Stockan said: “Social distancing on ferries mean we are starting tourism on a reduced ability for people to come. Businesses are now unsure how to start because they can’t open fully. It is your last few customers that turn your profit.”
Orkney is greeting all those who cross from the mainland with a letter, asking them to be be responsible.
The islands, Stockan explained, have a “ying and yang” of Covid. Their isolation makes them less vulnerable to the disease but more vulnerable to the cure, to the long-term economic hardship lockdown will bring.
Some Orcadians are nervous about tourism reopening. After all, some of the “double islands” – those off the Orkney mainland – have no real capacity to treat people with serious Covid symptoms.
This is not just an Orkney problem. Islanders across Scotland have expressed concern that ferry providers may not have space for locals and that capacity might be an issue for tourism.
If we don’t change the social distancing rules the locals may not get on the boats when they are needing to go to the mainland
Nigel Scott of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in the Western Isles said his council's position was that “priority for travel going forward should focus on island residents and friends and family living on and from islands, key workers and freight, while maintaining a safe environment for all”.
Scott added: “We are seeking further clarity on this and discussions are continuing with Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, CalMac and CalMac's Community Board. There are obviously many issues around ferry travel and the Comhairle is of the view that our communities need greater clarity as restrictions ease.”
Camille Dressler chairs both the Scottish Islands Federation and the community council for the islands of Eigg, Rum, Muck and Canna in the Inner Hebrides. She took aim at CalMac's booking system, which like that of Orkney Ferries and other operators “still does not recognise the different needs of islanders and visitors”.
She said: “What we have heard from members is that in many cases, the pent-up demand, reduced number of sailings and social distancing restrictions mean ferries have been fully booked within seconds, with no possibilities for islanders to have places reserved for them when they have not been able to leave their island for over three months.
“This is placing them in a very difficult situation when they are having to travel for any reason, such as medical and dental appointments, essential shopping, collecting building supplies, and visiting mainland families.”