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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Dianne Bourne

Scotland extends travel ban to cover Manchester and Salford

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a travel ban to Manchester and Salford which will come into force from Monday.

Speaking at her weekly Covid-19 briefing on Friday in Edinburgh, she said the measure was necessary to halt the spread of the disease.

The new restrictions will sit alongside the existing non-essential travel ban between Scotland and Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.

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Ms Sturgeon said the new ruling was a result of "high levels" of coronavirus cases in Manchester and Salford.

She said: "Unfortunately we are introducing restrictions on travel between Scotland and two cities in England.

"Manchester and Salford currently have high levels of Covid and so from Monday, non-essential travel between Scotland and those two cities is not permitted.

"Non-essential travel is already prohibited between Scotland and Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.

"Anyone else travelling elsewhere in the Greater Manchester or Lancashire area I'd ask to think carefully about whether your journey is really necessary because we do see cases rising across that region.

"I do realise anyone with family and friends in these areas or anyone simply planning a visit this is disappointing but rates of Covid in these cities are particularly high at the moment and these restrictions are intended to minimise the risk of either exacerbating the situation there or indeed allowing more virus to come back here to Scotland."

Ms Sturgeon added that decisions were being made on the "basis of assessments of necessity and proportionality".

Current advice from the UK Government for residents of Greater Manchester, where case of the Delta variant are "rising", says residents should "minimise travel in and out of affected areas".

The government advise people in affected areas to "exercise particular caution" and to try and meet people outside where possible instead of inside, and to keep two metres away from people not in your household or support bubble.

But there are no specific bans on travel in place at the moment.

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