ALL travel corridors to the UK have been scrapped by Boris Johnson – meaning arrivals from every country must self-isolate.
The Scottish Government said the new rules, to come into force from 4am on Monday, means passengers travelling to Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) will be required to isolate for 10 days on return.
They must also have a valid negative Covid-19 test result, taken no more than three days before the scheduled time of departure.
Most people from outside the CTA who meet the limited criteria to travel to Scotland will still require to undertake pre-departure tests and must have a valid negative Covid-19 test result taken no more than three days before the scheduled time of departure. This will be checked by operators, and passengers with a positive test result or an invalid certificate will be refused boarding.
The Prime Minister told the Downing Street press conference that the measure is in response to the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and the discovery of new strains of the virus including from Brazil and South Africa.
He said: “It’s precisely because we have the hope of that vaccine and the risk of new strains coming from overseas that we must take additional steps now to stop those strains from entering the country.
“Yesterday we announced that we’re banning flights from South America and Portugal and to protect us against the risk from as-yet-unidentified strains we will also temporarily close all travel corridors from 0400 on Monday.”
People arriving in the UK from a destination with a travel corridor are currently exempt from the 10-day quarantine requirement.
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The new policy means arrivals from every destination will need to self-isolate for 10 days, or receive a negative result from a coronavirus test taken at least five days after they enter the UK.
It had already been announced that travellers arriving in England and Scotland from Monday will need to ions will be tightened.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “International travel has played a key role in previous waves of coronavirus and is a significant risk to our efforts to suppress the virus to the lowest possible level. The emergence of these new variants mean we must think carefully about restrictions on travel.
“It is crucial we take the right steps to prevent importing new strains that can increase transmission or undermine the vaccine in Scotland.
"Travel into or out of Scotland is currently illegal and that will remain the case while we work to suppress the new strain of Covid-19. It remains the case that any travel must be for an essential reason.
"Everyone must stay at home as much as possible to minimise the risk of catching or spreading the virus.”
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