Friday, February 12, 2021
Scottish transport secretary, Michael Matheson, made it official that travellers will be staying at a designated hotel for ten days on arrival from Monday. The government has selected six hotels for quarantine purpose which are close to airports Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow having a combined capacity of 1,300 rooms will be used to implement the quarantine.
The cost of the stay, set at £1,750 per person, and this has to be paid in advance by travellers. Final costs of quarantine for those travelling in groups are yet to be finalised and also expenses for those who cannot afford to pay for isolation is under planning with the welfare fund that will be introduced shortly.
All arrivals will be tested twice for the virus – once on day two and once on day eight after arrival. Visitors from the Common Travel Area, which includes Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Ireland, will be exempt from the rules. The rules for Scotland go further than those for England, announced yesterday, which only require hotel stays for arrival from designated ‘red list’ countries. These currently include much of South America, South Africa, Portugal and elsewhere.
Matheson also said existing travel exemptions will be strengthened, including limiting overseas training for elite sportspeople to athletes and coaches preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics. A small number of arrivals will not be required to isolate, such as those involved in essential supply chains for goods coming into Scotland.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
