Portugal added to Scotland’s quarantine list
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Passengers arriving in Scotland from Portugal or French Polynesia will have to self-isolate for two weeks as of Saturday, the Scottish Justice Secretary has confirmed.
Humza Yousaf revealed the measures around an hour after the Welsh Government announced a 14-day quarantine rule for travellers from the European country and a number of Greek islands.
It follows an increase in positive coronavirus test results for Portugal, with cases rising and staying above 20 per 100,000.
Mr Yousaf said: “We are in the midst of a global pandemic and the situation in many countries can change suddenly.
“Therefore, people should think very hard before committing to non-essential travel abroad.
“With Scotland’s relatively low infection rate, importation of new cases is a significant risk to public health.
“I am also concerned by the level of infections in Gibraltar and we will be monitoring the situation there very carefully.
“Regular discussions continue with the other three governments in the UK.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation in all parts of the world and base the decisions we make on the scientific evidence available.”
The rules come into effect as of 4am on Saturday.
Pressure has been mounting on England to remove Portugal from the UK Government’s quarantine exemption list after its coronavirus case rate worsened.
There were 23.0 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the country in the seven days to Wednesday, up from 15.3 a week earlier.
The Scottish Government also required travellers from Greece to self-isolate for 14 days from Thursday.
In Greece, the seven-day coronavirus case rate is 13.8. It is 15.3 in Ireland and 14.7 in the UK.
