NICOLA Sturgeon has said that the Scottish Government will give more details about managed quarantine for international travellers next week.
At the daily coronavirus briefing today, the First Minister described the necessity for a "comprehensive system of managed quarantine" after a study suggested that international travel was the "strongest predictor" of death rates during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen found an increase of a million international arrivals was associated with a 3.4% rise in the mean daily increase in Covid-19 deaths during the first wave of the pandemic across the 37 worst-hit countries.
At the briefing, Sturgeon said that the global nature of the pandemic depends on the whole world getting itself into a better position, not just the UK.
READ MORE: International travel 'strongest predictor' of death rates in first wave
She said the trade-off for getting more normality in our daily lives at home means restrictions on overseas travel. She pointed to New Zealand as an indicator of how these trade-offs can work.
She said: "In New Zealand right now there is pretty much normality domestically, but the price they are paying for that is a ring of steel around the country."
New Zealand has recorded 2313 cases of coronavirus and 25 total deaths. The border is closed to almost all travellers apart from citizens and legal residents with everyone else requiring approval from immigration.
Sturgeon continued: "If we want greater normality at home for a period then we're going to have to accept the trade-off of not having overseas travel.
"How long for? I don't know yet, but what I do know is the more successful we are at suppressing the virus and vaccinating, the sooner we get out of this."
LETTERS: If Alister Jack wants to help Scotland, UK borders should be secured
The news comes as Edinburgh airport has seen its lowest number of passengers since 1995 over the last 12 months.
In 2019, the airport celebrated a record number of passengers as almost 15 million people using the airport.
But this plummeted to just 3.5 million in 2020 – a 76% reduction on the previous year.
The vast majority of those travelled before the pandemic hit and numbers plummeted by 99% between April and June, by 83% from July to September and by 90% between October and December.
The drop in passenger numbers is estimated to have cost the Scottish economy around £1 billion, as well as 21,000 jobs.
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar is now calling on the Scottish Government to step in with an economic recovery plan for aviation.
He said: “Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones through this pandemic and with those on the front line managing the health crisis.
“The fall in our passenger numbers is only one reflection of the long-term damage being inflicted by Covid-19 on Scotland’s economy and its social fabric, but it is a worrying one and there is no clear path to recovery.
“Nobody should assume that when the pandemic subsides, life will go back to normal.
“At the airport, we will be starting from a low level of activity not recorded here since 1995 and the choice of airlines and destinations may be dramatically different to those we had worked hard to build before 2020, and on which many people depend for bringing visitors to Scotland and for holidays and business, including exports.
READ MORE: Covid in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon announces 53 deaths and 1149 cases
“We believe that now is the right time for industry, Government and trade unions to be thinking about a substantial economic recovery plan – one that does not distract the health professionals from the important job of saving lives and protecting the NHS today, but one which puts Scotland in the best possible position to recover as quickly as possible when the conditions allow.
“The power and impact of the aviation industry cannot simply be measured on passenger numbers and the number of aircraft arriving and departing – thousands of people rely on airports and airlines, and their vast supply chains, for the income that puts food on the table and pays the bills.
“Other countries around the world are providing support for their aviation sectors and the UK and Scottish governments should do the same.”
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