Fourth day in a row without any confirmed deaths from Covid-19 as First Minister hits out at Downing Street over zero consultation on air bridges policy
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Scotland has seen a fourth day in a row without any deaths from a confirmed case of Covid-19, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
At today's Scottish Government briefing she welcomed the news and said there is now “no doubt” the figures illustrate the progress Scotland is making in combating the virus.
On that front she hit out at plans announced by the UK government for so-called "air bridges" to be established with other countries that would allow people to travel abroad without being subject to quarantine measures.
"The UK government made its announcement on what are called air bridges, which allow travel to and from certain countries without quarantine restrictions, unfortunately without any prior consultation at all with the Scottish Government," she said.
“As a result we are still considering a response and our own proposals. The Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, was part of a four-way phone discussion with Michael Gove and the other devolved administration earlier today.
“This is an issue on which we have tried very hard to work closely with the UK government and other devolved administrations, and we can and do see the benefits of adopting a consistent approach across all parts of the UK.
“However, we also know the quarantine measures, albeit perhaps on a more targeted basis, in the future may become more important in Scotland rather than less as our infection rates fall, since then the relative impact of new cases from outside Scotland potentially becomes greater.
“And of course the prospect of cases coming in from elsewhere poses a risk not just to health but also to our economy.
"We also want to take a bit of time to consider the public health impact of the UK proposals as well as the data and evidence underpinning them which hopefully we'll see before too long.”
While there have been no more deaths announced from confirmed Covid-19 infection a further five cases of the virus have been confirmed in the last 24 hours.
This takes the total number of people in Scotland known to have, or have had, the virus to 18,241.
A total of 740 patients are currently in hospital either with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – 38 fewer than yesterday.
The total number of deaths in Scotland stands at 2482.
