THE Covid-19 special envoy for the World Health Organisation has said Scotland's "spirit will shine through” at the COP26 conference as the country has handled the pandemic “remarkably well”.
Dr David Nabarro said he is “rather impressed” with the Covid measures the Scottish Government has put in place for the UN climate change conference in Glasgow.
He was asked on Good Morning Scotland whether the event, running from October 31 to November 12, will lead to a spike in virus cases.
He told the BBC show: “I think we are all of us aware that having a large face-to-face gathering in the midst of a pandemic could lead to significant increases in numbers of people who are ill.
“But then it's necessary to understand the care that Scottish authorities are putting into managing the event.
"And I must say, having reviewed the information that's come to me about how the event is going to be run, and the way in which people are going to behave the way in which it's going to be zoned, the testing protocols and so on ... I'm actually rather impressed and we have had other global events that have been able to take place without provoking huge numbers of cases, such as the Olympics.
"And I think that it's the kind of precautions that have been put in place are the right ones for getting on with life despite the threat posed by the virus. I'm concerned but I’m reassured.”
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Nabarro added that the general population were co-operating in high numbers with rules on mask-wearing and physical distancing, saying: “Remember the Scots have done and are doing remarkably well on Covid and so I believe that the Scottish spirit will shine through and everybody should by the way be talking about it everywhere in and around Glasgow saying: ‘Scotland’s doing it, let’s go on doing it and doing it with our friends who are coming in from abroad for this such important event.’”
He added that all those offered a booster jab should accept it to tackle low rates of uptake because it’s “the right thing to do”.
All delegates at the conference must:
- Be able to show evidence of pre-arrival COVID-19 negative test result
- complete a Passenger Locator Form
- Participate in the COP26 daily test programme
- Anyone who has been in a red-list country or territory in the 10 days immediately prior to arrival into England or Scotland (see current list) must undergo Managed Quarantine at port of entry
- Delegates that are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must quarantine for five days
- Unvaccinated delegates must quarantine for 10 days
Those expected to be in attendance at the major international climate summit include American president Joe Biden, French president Emmanuel Macron, the Queen and Sir David Attenborough.
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