Obvious flaw in SNP s hotel quarantine policy increases risk of virus spreading , warn experts
By encouraging Scots to fly to English airports, loophole will mean many will travel hundreds of miles on public transport
14 February 2021 • 8:37pm
Passengers after arriving at Edinburgh airport, Scotland, ahead of new quarantine rules in Scotland
Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA
Nicola Sturgeon’s draconian stance on quarantine hotels risks fuelling the spread of coronavirus because people will travel hundreds of miles on public transport to avoid her harsher rules, experts have warned.
A new system requiring all people flying into Scotland from outside the British isles to spend 10 nights in an quarantine hotel comes into force at 4am on Monday.
Ms Sturgeon used her daily Covid briefing to invite those who had been missed to write to her directly after admitting a vaccination phoneline she highlighted on Wednesday was not for person-specific advice.
She also said the deadline for vaccinating all 580,000 people who are over 70 or clinically vulnerable was still Feb 15 after Prof Jason Leitch, the national clinical director, suggested it had been extended to Feb 19.
But she expressed concerns that wintry weather expected in the north of Scotland over the next few days could slow the roll-out there.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for heavy and persistent snow for much of the north of Scotland. The Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Tayside and Perthshire are expected to be the worst affected.
But the announcement came shortly after Ms Sturgeon said support from the Armed Forces should not be seen as a favour from the UK Government as they are partly funded by Scottish taxpayers.
Despite Scotland having the slowest roll-out of any of the home nations, she told First Minister s Questions that the programme was going well and announced a daily record of 38,484 jabs were administered on Tuesday.
She said her government had gone slower as it had followed an approach that very deliberately concentrated on getting the most clinically vulnerable groups vaccinated first, and achieving as high an uptake in these groups as possible.