People travelling into Scotland will now have to pay almost £2000 to quarantine in a hotel.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson announced that passengers will now need to pay £1750 and take two Covid tests after arriving into the country.

These new rules will come into force as of Monday 15 February and will apply to every country and not just those on the "red list". 

Mr Matheson also noted that people entering through England, and intending to travel to Scotland, would have to isolate down south for the 10-day period. 

The Scottish Transport Secretary said stronger restrictions on travel were needed as part of efforts to combat Covid-19 and that border measures would play an "important role in suppressing new cases" of the virus in Scotland.

The Herald: Michael Matheson outlined the new rules in parliamentMichael Matheson outlined the new rules in parliament

He also said it was "vital" to stop new variants of the virus from entering Scotland.

Mr Matheson said: “We need a comprehensive approach to restricting international travel.”

But he said the UK Government continued to rely on a "targeted, reactive approach" – insisting this was "no longer sufficient" n the face of the threat from coronavirus.

He said from Monday Scotland would require all international arrivals to enter "managed" quarantine.

 

What does the £1750 fee include?

The fee will include the cost of a hotel transferring and testing.

 

Where will the hotels be?

Six hotels have been identified near Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen airports and a booking system will go online from Thursday.

 

What did the Transport Secretary say?

Mr Matheson said: "Protecting the vaccine and helping us return to a greater degree of normality is now a part of our regulations.

"Policy on international travel control must be guided by expert advice.

"That advice is clear: we need a comprehensive approach to restrict international travel." 

Mr Matheson also confirmed passengers entering England and intending to travel to Scotland would have to isolate down south for the 10-day period. 

"From Monday, we will require all international travellers arriving directly on flights into Scotland to enter managed isolation," Mr Matheson added. 

"This goes further than the measures announced by the UK health secretary [where it is only red list countries].

The Herald:

"We know this is not sufficient and we have gone further. 

"The Welsh first minister has echoed that. 

"Our aim on international travel has always been to work on a Four Nations basis where possible.

"This will involved a joint approach to secure hotels initially in England and in Scotland. 

"Passengers travelling to Scotland from overseas will be required to book a hotel on an online portal. 

"That system will go live on Thursday."