Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots not to travel to areas of England that are deemed to have ‘high’ or ‘very high’ rates of coronavirus infection.
The First Minister said that a growing number of Covid-19 infections in Scotland were linked to travel outside of the country.
NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect figures revealed that 252 people who tested positive for the virus in the last week reported some form of travel to other parts of the UK.
Blackpool is an area of significant concern, as the latest statistics have revealed that around 180 people in Scotland with Covid in the last month reported that they had visited the English tourist hotspot.
Scots have already been advised against non-essential travel outwith and to the Lothian, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Ayrshire & Arran and Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board regions.
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus press conference today, Sturgeon said: “My general advice for everyone at the moment across the country is to think very carefully about whether you need to travel at all. And if you must travel, if your trip is necessary then travel carefully and safely.
“This advice applies to travel to and from parts of England with high levels of infection.
“We are currently advising against non-essential travel to parts of England which are classed as very high or high alert areas under England’s new three tier system. And I’m asking people from these areas not to travel to Scotland either.”
She added: “Several of these areas are seeing even high levels of infection than we are currently seeing in central Scotland.”
The UK Government outlined a tiered approach to local lockdown in England earlier this week.
All areas of the country have been defined as having ‘medium’, ‘high’ or ‘very high’ rates of coronavirus infection.
Those considered to be most at risk have been issued with the toughest restrictions.
Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots not to travel to or from these areas unless it is absolutely necessary.
High
Cheshire
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cheshire East
Greater Manchester
- Manchester
- Bolton
- Bury
- Stockport
- Tameside
- Trafford
- Wigan
- Salford
- Rochdale
- Oldham
Warrington
- Warrington
Derbyshire
High Peak – the wards of:
- Tintwistle
- Padfield
- Dinting
- St John’s
- Old Glossop
- Whitfield
- Simmondley
- Gamesley
- Howard Town
- Hadfield South
- Hadfield North
Lancashire
- Blackpool
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Burnley
- Chorley
- Fylde
- Hyndburn
- Lancaster
- Pendle
- Preston
- Ribble Valley
- Rossendale
- South Ribble
- West Lancashire
- Wyre
West Yorkshire
- Leeds
- Bradford
- Kirklees
- Calderdale
- Wakefield
South Yorkshire
- Barnsley
- Rotherham
- Doncaster
- Sheffield
North East
- Newcastle
- South Tyneside
- North Tyneside
- Gateshead
- Sunderland
- Durham
- Northumberland
Tees Valley
- Middlesbrough
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Darlington
- Hartlepool
West Midlands
- Birmingham
- Sandwell
- Solihull
- Wolverhampton
- Walsall
Leicester
- Leicester
- Oadby and Wigston
Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Nottingham City
Very high
Liverpool City Region
- Liverpool
- Knowsley
- Wirral
- St Helens
- Sefton
- Halton
