HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman has not ruled out checks on road borders with England if the UK Government does not tighten its international quarantine proposals.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last week that plans by the UK for a “managed quarantine” system for travellers from certain countries do not go far enough, as she announced Scotland will do the same for all travellers.
She added she will continue to urge the UK Government to tighten its system, and Freeman said more action may need to be taken in Scotland if it does not do so.
The Health Secretary told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Those are difficult issues, partly because we’ve got individuals who work in Scotland and live just over the Border and vice-versa, and of course there will always be exemptions for haulage traffic, but we need to continue to talk that through with the UK Government.”
When asked if there could be checks on the Border with England if restrictions are not tightened by the UK Government, she added: “I’m not saying yes and I’m not saying no.
“What I’m saying is, those discussions need to continue to see what more we can do, if we can’t persuade the UK Government to take the tough, clinically-led approach that we are taking, then we need to work with them to identify how can we then continue to protect Scotland to the maximum level.”
Meanwhile, Freeman said she believes Scotland’s vaccine target will be met.
The Scottish Government set a target of giving the first dose to all health workers, older residents in care homes and the over-80s by yesterday. On Thursday, 98% of care home residents, 92% of residents in other adult care homes, 90% of over-80s and 38% of over-70s had been vaccinated.
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