THE Scottish Government is still trying to convince the UK to toughen up its hotel quarantine policy.
Next week, all travellers into Scotland will be told to self-isolate for 10 days in special accommodation, but south of the Border, only those coming from “red list” countries deemed to be high-risk will need to lock themselves away.
The aim of the policy is to try and stop mutant variations of the coronavirus getting into the country.
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Jeane Freeman said the Scottish Government approach was guided by clinical advice.
She added: “We want the four nations to go further than the current UK Government position is.
“They want to quarantine those who come from what they call ‘red zone’ countries.
“Our position is that everyone who comes in internationally to the UK should be in quarantine for that set period.”
She said that the Scottish Government was continuing to talk to UK ministers “about trying to get them to agree that we should all be much tougher”.
READ MORE: Sage warned Boris Johnson to shut borders last month
When asked directly if the Scottish Government had booked hotel rooms for those needing to quarantine, Freeman said discussions were under way.
Freeman said: “You shouldn’t take it as a yes or a no, because I am not trying to dodge this at all.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are both said to be in favour of completely closing the borders and adopting the Scottish Government’s position. However, they’ve been overruled by Boris Johnson.
Meanwhile, a study reveals that the AstraZeneca vaccine offers only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African mutation, though it can protect against severe disease,
Yesterday, lead researcher within the Oxford team, Professor Sarah Gilbert, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Maybe we won’t be reducing the number of cases as much, but we still won’t be seeing the deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease.”
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