South Scotland MSP Emma Harper and local Councillor Dougie Campbell are reaching out to visitors to Dumfries and Galloway to encourage them to follow the track and trace process put in place by the Scottish Government, and to download the Protect Scotland app whilst in the country.
The Protect Scotland app aims to limit the spread of COVID19 in Dumfries and Galloway, across Scotland and the other UK nations.
The virus which causes COVID19 is highly transmissible and infections in vulnerable people who have been shielding remains a concern. The South Scotland MSP and local Councillor are also reminding those living in the region to download the app if they haven’t already done so.
The calls from Ms Harper and Cllr Campbell follow asks from Scotland’s First Minister, VisitScotland and the Scottish Tourism Alliance.
At a recent Health and Sport Committee Ms Harper questioned Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, on whether people coming in to Scotland to visit should download the app. The Justice Secretary responded saying he would pursue whether further advice was needed to be provided at ports of entry, including sea ports and air ports.
Commenting, Ms Harper and Cllr Campbell said:
“The Scottish Government’s free ‘Protect Scotland’ proximity tracing app will help stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus and complement the person-to-person approach of Test and Protect.
“Around 2 million people across Scotland have downloaded the app which is welcome. However, we want to stress the importance of those visiting our region also downloading the app to protect themselves and our communities. This virus is still highly transmissible and the app – which takes less than a minute to download to a smart phone – allows us to alert people at risk of infection far more quickly, so that all steps can be taken by public health professionals, to reduce the risk of infecting others. We also want to remind people in the region to download the app if they haven’t yet done so.
“Scotland’s official contact tracing app is helping us all to protect ourselves, our family, our friends and our community by enabling faster contact tracing. The more people who have the app, the more it can help to slow the spread of Coronavirus.
“That’s why we are again urging people in Dumfries & Galloway to download this free app, and let’s all protect Scotland.”
