DOWNING St has brushed aside Scottish Government concerns of a “loophole” in the UK’s Covid-19 defences for people travelling to Scotland via England from countries not on the so-called “red-list” as Edinburgh continues to urge London to take a tougher approach.
Michael Matheson, the Scottish Government’s Transport Secretary, has claimed the UK Government's policy will not work, saying: "It's a loophole that has been created by the UK Government and its failure to take action on the basis of the clinical and expert advice that has been provided on this matter."
The UK Government has introduced a policy to stop the import of variant viruses, whereby anyone from 33 red-list countries seeking to travel to the UK will be banned from entry, except for British and Irish citizens with UK residency rights.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon threatens border closure over quarantine flight loophole
The red-list countries include Brazil and Argentina and other countries on the South American continent, Portugal, which has strong links with Brazil, as well as South Africa and a number of other African countries like Rwanda and Namibia.
The Scottish Government has introduced a similar list of so-called “acute risk countries,” which contains the same countries and territories as the red-list plus one other, the Falkland Islands.
If arriving in England, UK and Irish nationals now have to go into enforced quarantine for 10 days, covering the £1,750 cost themselves. Those from non red-list countries will have to self-isolate at home but this relies on the individuals to obey the rules by themselves.
In Scotland, the restrictions are stronger as a traveller directly flying here from any country has to go into enforced quarantine for 10 days, covering the cost themselves.
Edinburgh wants those travellers who arrive in England but intend to travel on to Scotland to be placed into quarantine hotels south of the border. However, no agreement has been reached between the two governments. Matt Hancock, the UK Government’s Health Secretary, made clear this morning that he was happy to discuss the matter with the Scottish Government.
At her daily Covid briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said: “At the moment anyone who lands at an airport elsewhere in the UK and then travels on to Scotland won’t be put into a hotel for managed isolation if their flight is from a destination outside the UK’s list of high-risk countries.
“The reason why we have decided to adopt stricter rules is because we think it is important to go as far as we can.”
READ MORE: Covid: Scotland's first international guests arrive with new quarantine rules in place
But the First Minister stressed that a common approach to travel restrictions across the four nations of the UK would be “preferable” as she said Scottish ministers would try to persuade the UK Government “to adopt more comprehensive measures”.
Asked whether travellers bound for Scotland but arriving in England would be quarantined, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “If travellers arrive in England from a red-list country and wish to continue to Scotland, they will first need to complete 10 days in managed quarantine in England.
“If a traveller arrives in England from an amber-list country and wishes to continue to Scotland, they will be able to do so but will then fall under Scottish quarantine rules on entry.”
Asked if the UK Government accepted there was a “loophole” in the UK’s Covid defences because people from non red-list countries could travel through England to Scotland without having to undergo forced quarantine, he replied: “If they arrive from a red-list country, they have to quarantine in England for 10 days.”
At the weekend, Mr Matheson warned that if the UK Government did not act on Edinburgh’s concerns, then the danger was it would “potentially undermine the public health approach here in Scotland,” which he said would be “unacceptable".
He pointed out introducing border checks between Scotland and England would be "very challenging" due to the volume of traffic.
Mr Matheson explained another option would be for UK ministers to provide the Scottish Government with the details of those who had landed in England but planned to travel on to Scotland, where they would be asked to report to a quarantine hotel in Scotland.
However, he also noted the problem with such a scenario was that “these are individuals who are then going to be potentially travelling on public transport," risking the spread of the virus.
This morning, the first international flight subject to the new rules arrived in Scotland from Istanbul.
It had been due to carry around 65 passengers but fewer than five made it on board due to issues at departures.
Six hotels have been block-booked for the purposes of quarantine in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with up to 1,300 rooms available.
UK and Scottish Government guidance stipulates that those subject to quarantine require a negative Covid-19 test no more than three days before travelling and to have booked at a room at a quarantine hotel in advance.
They will also have to submit a passenger locator form to the Home Office, declaring which countries they have been to in the 10 days before arrival in the UK.
Airlines have been asked to check for these and they will also be checked on arrival by Border Force officers, who can issue fines of £480 for non-compliance.
Security officers will then escort passengers to baggage reclaim and to pre-arranged transport to their quarantine hotel.
On arrival at the hotel, they will be given two home testing kits to be used on days two and eight of isolation. These are covered by the quarantine package costs as are three meals per day, fruit and soft drinks.
If they test positive, at any point, they will be required to stay in the hotel for 10 days after the test, at an additional charge starting from £152 daily for the first adult.
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