Sturgeon urges Scots not to travel to Covid-hit parts of northern England

Nicola Sturgeon has urged against travel from Scotland to parts of northern England hit with new lockdown restrictions, and warned that she could yet impose stricter requirements on those who had visited the areas if the outbreak escalates.

The First Minister said that people who had planned to travel from Scotland to Greater Manchester, Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire affected by the outbreak should cancel their plans, with the advice also applying to those in the areas who had intended to come across the border for a visit.

For Scottish residents currently in the affected areas, or those who had to travel there for essential purposes, she stopped short of saying that they would have to self-isolate for 14 days upon return. However, she said she may impose stricter measures in future if virus cases continue to increase.

While they are not being asked to cut short their visit, she said those in the areas currently should take extra care to follow public health advice. She said those returning should be “even more careful” and “minimise” contact with people from outside their household for two weeks.

People in the group were also urged to avoid pubs and restaurants if possible for a fortnight after they come back to Scotland, although this is advice rather than a legal requirement.

"Let me be very clear, we don't do this lightly,” the First Minister said. ”The connections between Scotland and the north of England are very strong, they are very important and they are highly valued by people on both sides of the border.

"But we see this as an important and necessary precaution. Our advice is of course designed to minimise the risk of spread from England into Scotland but it is also designed to assist people in these parts of England.”

Asked why she had not gone further by imposing a 14-day quarantine requirement, as is the case for those from many international countries, she said she was mindful of the “context” of how people travelled within the UK. However, she said she remained prepared to take “stronger” action if she deemed it necessary. Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly refused to rule out imposing blanket quarantine rules on travellers from England if it is justified on public health grounds.

She said: “There is nothing political or constitutional about it, but if at any stage if I think we need to take stronger action to reduce the risk of that spread from England to Scotland we will do that. There will be practical challenges, I make no bones about that, but we will seek to do that if we think it is necessary.”

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon revealed yesterday that 30 new cases have been confirmed in Scotland in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total in more than eight weeks.

She said she was particularly concerned that many recent new infections had been found in the 20 to 39 age group, which could be linked to the reopening of pubs and restaurants.

She said: “For a person in their 20s, maybe going to a pub every Friday and Saturday night would be a standard thing to do. What I’m saying is just think about whether that is something you would want to do now. You might go on a Friday not a Saturday, or once every couple of weeks. It’s all about thinking a bit harder about everything we’re doing.”

Shona Haslam, the Conservative leader of Scottish Borders Council, said that businesses close to England should be supported to compensate for them missing out on visitors from England who would be affected by the new advice against travel.

She said: “with this latest advice from the Scottish Government now advising against any travel from the North West of England into Scotland, then they need to be fully transparent with local residents and businesses.

“With the hospitality industry only having just started to re-open after being opened up more slowly by the SNP Government, then this is another worrying time for them in terms of getting vital sources of revenue from visitors.

“That is why the SNP Government must ensure that the economy across the South of Scotland is fully supported and I have already been contacted by concerned hoteliers in the region as to what these travel restrictions will mean for them.”