First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called upon UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek an extension to Brexit due to the new covid strain.
Writing on Twitter, she described the new strain a "profoundly serious situation."
Ms Sturgeon said: "It’s now imperative that PM seeks an agreement to extend the Brexit transition period.
"The new Covid strain - & the various implications of it - means we face a profoundly serious situation, & it demands our 100% attention. It would be unconscionable to compound it with Brexit."
Travel in the UK has been thrown into disarray in the last 24 hours, with many EU countries banning flights to the UK. France has closed its border with the UK for 28 hours, meaning that no lorries or ferry passengers can leave Dover, and the Eurotunnel is closed.
A queue of lorries is building up on the M20 and it is thought that UK supplies of food and drink to supermarkets could be disrupted.
Boris Johnson, is to chair a Cobra meeting on Monday that will address “the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK”, a number 10 spokesperson said, amid expected significant disruption at ports.
The European Union is to hold a similar crisis meeting today to coordinate its response to concerns about the new strain.
