[ad_1]
Image copyright
Reuters
Portugal had already been removed from the UK’s quarantine list on August 20.
Travelers arriving in Scotland from Portugal will have to isolate themselves for 14 days under the new rules that go into effect on Saturday.
Scotland and Wales have added the country to their “quarantine list”, while England and Northern Ireland have not.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it was a confusing position, but the Scottish government insisted it was acting on scientific advice.
The new rules take effect from 04:00
French Polynesia is also now on Scotland’s list of countries requiring quarantine, while the self-isolation rules for Greece have been in place since Thursday.
‘Significant risk’
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the decision to add Portugal came after coronavirus cases rose above 20 per 100,000 residents.
Yousaf said: “We are in the middle of a global pandemic and the situation in many countries can change suddenly.
“Therefore, people should think long and hard before committing to non-essential travel abroad.
“With Scotland’s relatively low infection rate, the importation of new cases is a significant public health risk.”
The Scottish government was also closely monitoring the situation in Gibraltar, he added.
But the move was challenged by UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who told the BBC’s Today show that the Scottish government had decided to “jump the gun” earlier in the week by adding Greece to its quarantine list. without using data from the Joint Biosafety Center (JBC). .
Regarding Portugal, he said that the decision did not take into account the increased level of evidence. He said the positivity rate, the proportion of positive tests, was lower than when Portugal was added to the list of travel brokers.
However, a Scottish government spokesman said Shapps made the decision to keep Portugal on the travel broker list before studying the latest JBC data.
‘Same approach’
Travelers returning to Scotland will need to isolate themselves even if they have flown back to an airport in England.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson later downplayed the difference between the UK nations when asked during a visit to the West Midlands.
While admitting that decentralized administrations sometimes have different approaches, he insisted that the UK was “proceeding as one”.
“I think you will find that if you dig below the surface of some of the surface differentiations you will find overwhelmingly that the UK takes the same approach,” he said.
- HOLIDAYS: Where can I go in the UK?
- TRAVEL: What are the UK rules?
- QUARANTINE: Who should isolate themselves after arriving in the UK?
- GLOBAL SPREAD: How many cases around the world are there?
- TRAVEL RIGHTS: Can I get a vacation refund?
