Dimitris Kouimtsidis
SCOTLAND has announced that it will not lift the quarantine for people travelling from Spain, despite UK wide plans to lift the measure on July 10.
The Scottish government has approved almost all of the ‘air bridge’ travel destinations approved by Westminster.
Out of the 59 air bridges approved by the UK government, Holyrood accepted all but two, Spain and Serbia.
The move means that anyone who lands at an English airport from Spain and then travels onwards to Scotland will also have to quarantine for 14 days.
Checks are conducted on people who are meant to be in quarantine, and fines can be levied if it is found they are not.
Nicola Sturgeon said this was a ‘very difficult decision’ to make, but that it was needed to ‘protect Scotland as far as possible from a resurgence of this virus in the weeks ahead’.
The First Minister said the lower prevalence of the virus in Scotland meant its position was ‘a bit different to that of the UK as a whole’.
She added that they could not ‘in good conscience lift restrictions’ for people arriving from Spain or Serbia.
The leader of the SNP said this was ‘the best balance we can arrive at’ and hopes that the situation can be updated in the near future.
