Travellers arriving in Scotland from Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City State will be required to quarantine at home, or another specified address, for 14 days from 4am Sunday (18 October).
This is due to significant increases in the number of cases testing positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19) as well as the increased number of cases in these areas.
Meanwhile those arriving from mainland Greece and the Greek islands, except Mykonos, will no longer need to quarantine due to the low number of cases. The change is also effective from Sunday.
Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said:
“Lifting quarantine restrictions on those travelling from most of Greece, in line with the public health data we have received, is not a signal that it is safe to book foreign travel. All travel carries a risk and people should think long and hard before choosing to go abroad.
“It is vital that we supress the spread of the virus in Scotland and imposing quarantine restrictions on those arriving in the UK is our first line of defence in managing the risk of importing cases from communities with high risks of transmission.
“We are continuing to have regular discussions with the other three governments in the UK.”
Wherever somebody has travelled from – whether an exempt country or not – it remains a legal requirement to complete a Passenger Locator Form and provide it to Border Force officials. Failure to do so can also result in a fine since this, along with any failure to self-isolate where required, poses a significant risk to wider public health across Scotland.
Background:
Public health rules for international travel are an important part of Scotland’s wider response to the pandemic to limit the introduction of new chains of transmission.
To allow the appropriate arrangements to be put in place, following the laying of the regulations, the change will come into force at 4am on Sunday 18 October
All international travellers arriving into Scotland, apart from a very limited number of individual exemptions, must complete a passenger locator form and provide evidence that they have done so on arrival in the UK if requested to do so by a Border Force official. This includes people arriving from countries where quarantine is subsequently not required. Individuals who do not complete the form and present it when asked on arrival may be fined £60. The fine can be doubled for each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £480.
Failure to comply with the requirement to quarantine may result in a fine of more than £480.
Those travelling abroad should check in advance for any local requirements to quarantine on arrival at their destination. Further information about the foreign travel public health rules, including quarantine requirements, can be read on the Scottish Government website. This includes the existing list of overseas destinations where those arriving in Scotland are exempt from self-isolation.
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