International Covid travel restrictions for Scotland will end this week

Coronavirus restrictions on passengers traveling to Scotland from overseas are due to end this week.

The announcement comes after a meeting between Britain’s four nations on Monday decided that all international travel restrictions for people arriving in the country will be lifted from 4am on Friday.

Fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to complete passenger locator forms as part of the new change.

And unvaccinated travelers will stop having to take pre-departure and second-day PCR tests, or fill out locator forms.

Officials said, however, that monitoring by the UK Health Security Agency, a government agency responsible for protecting people from the impact of infectious diseases, nuclear incidents and other health threats, will continue.

They said this will continue with certain measures to enable rapid response to “specific future scenarios”.

Despite the inter-British decision, the Scottish government has expressed concern about the new lack of border control measures and has called on the UK government to maintain some form of border monitoring.

However, given the reported negative impact of non-alignment on the tourism industry, he said he “reluctantly agreed on a four-country basis”.

The new changes will only apply to inbound travellers.

Passengers should continue to check gov.uk for the latest information on other countries’ requirements when traveling internationally.

Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “These measures open up international travel significantly and have been agreed UK-wide despite concerns from the Scottish Government over the lack of border controls.

“However, we recognize the benefits of acting on a four-nation basis and this will bring a high degree of normality back to travel and is extremely welcome for Scottish tourism, the aviation sector and travellers.”

He said continued monitoring by the UK Health Safety Agency could include tailored restrictions in the future where appropriate, and said people may wish to continue to observe measures such as frequent hand washing and respecting physical distancing when traveling.

About Coy Lewallen

Check Also

Several emergency services respond to an overturned car

A car overturned on a busy road near Wimborne this afternoon, prompting several emergency services …