NICOLA Sturgeon has warned Scots against heading overseas at the moment, saying there is“a worrying resurgence of Covid cases” in Europe.
Over the weekend, the Scottish Government re-introduced a 14-day quarantine on holiday-makers returning from Spain, just days after it had been lifted.
Speaking at the coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said those going abroad should not assume that quarantine rules will be the same when they get back from their trip as they were when they left.
Parts of Belgium and Spain, along with Germany and France, have seen recent outbreaks of coronavirus.
The First Minister said people need to “factor in the uncertainty”.
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Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, she said: “I take no pleasure in saying this because of the impact on individuals and industries that are very important to Scotland, but right now be very, very cautious about booking foreign travel that is not essential.
“You don’t know that if you’re in a country they may change their regulations and you might find yourself restricted in that country, and then when you come home you might find that the quarantine rules have changed here.
“Unfortunately that’s the nature of what we’re dealing with right now, so I want to be really blunt and really clear with people.
“If you were asking me, I wouldn’t be booking a foreign holiday right now because of these reasons. I would be choosing, if I had the time to go on holiday, I’d be choosing to spend it here in Scotland.”
Scotland’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nicola Steedman, said that “nowhere is completely safe”.
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She added: “It is a global pandemic. We run the risk, because numbers are so low in Scotland that we think it’s gone away. It hasn’t.
“In a few weeks time we don’t want to be in the position some other countries are in, when numbers were low but have shot up.
“The risk is still there and the risk is real. I would love to give a list of places but I can’t.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Cabinet will meet today to decide if Scotland’s schools should return full-time next month.
John Swinney yesterday revealed plans for surveillance testing for coronavirus in the classroom to provide “an extra level of assurance” on safety for parents, pupils and staff. The minister said he was “confident that our schools can re-open safely”.
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