Jeane Freeman criticises UK Government over refusal to extend hotel quarantine to all countries

Jeane Freeman has criticised the UK Government over its refusal to apply the hotel quarantine to all countries.

The health secretary has admitted questioning the Prime Minister’s policy of only quarantining those from “red list countries” when they come into Britain.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing on Friday, Ms Freeman claimed Holyrood had pushed the UK Government to go further and would continue to do so.

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She said: “Now we continue to discuss with the UK Government because we think that their approach, which confines itself to the red zone areas, is insufficient.

Jeane Freeman has criticised the UK Government over its refusal to apply the hotel quarantine to all countries.Jeane Freeman has criticised the UK Government over its refusal to apply the hotel quarantine to all countries.
Jeane Freeman has criticised the UK Government over its refusal to apply the hotel quarantine to all countries.

“And we continue to work with them to try and persuade them that they should adopt the tougher stance that we are adopting.

“We wouldn’t have to do this if the UK took a more sensible approach, an approach taken elsewhere around the world, which is to say that everyone that comes in, not red zone or other colour countries, everyone that comes into the United Kingdom needs to undertake mandatory quarantine."

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Incoming travellers to Scotland will face quarantine hotels from Monday

Ms Freeman explained the issue was not going away and insisted the Scottish Government was determined to deal with it “straightforwardly and simply”.

She explained: “We will keep on having those conversations. I had them last night with my counterparts, that this is a clearer simpler approach and more easily understood by anyone who is travelling into the island.

“Until we win their support for that, then we have to work our way through those loopholes, doing everything we can to mitigate the impact of those loopholes to protect the public of Scotland.”

The Scottish policy has marked a split from the UK Government’s plans, outlined earlier by UK health secretary Matt Hancock, and are stricter than those in place in England.

Arrivals into Scotland from outside the common travel area will be required to pay to book for a quarantine hotel room for £1,750 per person and will be expected to isolate for ten days and take two Covid-19 tests, one on the second day and one on day eight.

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Boris Johnson first announced that travellers returning to the UK from “red list” countries will be sent to government-approved quarantine hotels for ten days in the Commons on January 27.

People will also be required to fill in a form explaining why their trip is necessary, with enforcement of the ban on leisure travel stepped up at airports.

Professor Jason Leitch said he did not expect people to “abscond” from quarantine hotels, adding the Scottish Government was not planning to use “guards and fences around every hotel to keep people in it”.

Addressing the briefing, Prof Leitch explained the aim of “supported isolation” in quarantine hotels was “to put in place meals and accommodation to allow people to safely quarantine” before returning to their families.

He said: “We will allow people to behave like human beings so people will go outdoors for fresh air – that will be part of the operational process.

“The testing for the staff, how the meals will be delivered, which hotels it will be – that's being worked out even as we speak.

"We've done this very, very quickly, and it will be in place on Monday.”

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