All travel corridors into Scotland closed from Monday

Scotland and the rest of the UK are to close all travel corridors from 4am on Monday.

All passengers travelling to Scotland from overseas will be required to self-isolate for ten days.

They must also have proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken in the previous 72 hours before setting off.

In England, arrivals will need to quarantine for ten days, or receive a negative result from a coronavirus test taken at least five days after they enter the UK.

It is yet to be confirmed whether Scotland will adopt a similar measure.

Speaking at a UK Government press briefing on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move was to protect the country against new coronavirus strains.

The closure will end the quarantine exemption for arrivals from selected nations and comes as a ban on travellers from South America and Portugal came into force on Friday over concerns about a new variant identified in Brazil.

The Prime Minister said: “It’s precisely because we have the hope of that vaccine and the risk of new strains coming from overseas that we must take additional steps now to stop those strains from entering the country.

“Yesterday we announced that we’re banning flights from South America and Portugal and to protect us against the risk from as-yet-unidentified strains we will also temporarily close all travel corridors from 4am on Monday.

“Following conversations with the devolved administrations we will act together so this applies across the whole of the UK.”

Following his announcement, Scotland’s transport secretary Michael Matheson said: “International travel has played a key role in previous waves of coronavirus and is a significant risk to our efforts to suppress the virus to the lowest possible level.

“The emergence of these new variants mean we must think carefully about restrictions on travel.

“It is crucial we take the right steps to prevent importing new strains that can increase transmission or undermine the vaccine in Scotland.

“Travel into or out of Scotland is currently illegal and that will remain the case while we work to suppress the new strain of Covid-19.

“It remains the case that any travel must be for an essential reason.

“Everyone must stay at home as much as possible to minimise the risk of catching or spreading the virus.”