Travel restrictions and self-isolation (quarantine) rules have been implemented across the UK since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of the public.

Travellers arriving directly into Scotland from any country outside the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands) must quarantine for ten days and have a valid Managed Quarantine Facility booked prior to their departure, unless they have an exemption. Travellers who have been in, or travelled through a red list (acute risk) country in the previous ten days, will currently be refused entry to the UK. British or Irish Nationals, and those who have residence rights in the UK, will be able to enter but must quarantine in a government approved managed quarantine hotel for ten days.

The list of countries on the red list (acute risk) is continuously being reviewed and updated based on the risk of new variants of COVID-19 being imported into the UK, and may change at short notice. Travellers should be aware that the rules vary depending on which of the UK four nation countries they arrive in, and should follow the rules both for the UK nation they will be arriving into and for their home nation. More detailed information for travellers arriving in Scotland is available on the Scottish Government website, while information is also available for entry into England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides guidance on travelling abroad, including the latest information on COVID-19 and other non-COVID-19 risks such as safety and security, entry requirements, and travel warnings. This guidance is being kept under constant review and may change at short notice.

Country specific COVID-19 risk

The fitfortravel (for the general public) and TRAVAX (for health professionals) country pages have been updated to include a COVID-19 country specific risk-rating, with every country being identified as high, moderate or low risk and each rating accompanied by appropriate travel advice. This information will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section on each country page of fitfortravel and the 'Emerging Health Risks' section of every TRAVAX country page. This risk-rating is based on a robust public health assessment of the COVID-19 risks for travellers to each country and is regularly reviewed.

Since 18 March 2021, the COVID-19 risk to UK travellers has been increased for: 

• Republic of Korea 
• Saint Barthelemy 
• Vietnam

Advice for travellers

Before planning or booking international travel, travellers should consider if their journey is essential and legally permitted. The following sources should be consulted both prior to travel and during the trip, as guidance may change at short notice: 

• the FCDO website, for country specific Travel Advisory Notices regarding travel and entry restrictions, and review the local medical care available at your destination 
• the COVID-19 risk-rating at your destination, which will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section of all fitfortravel country pages and the ‘Emerging Health Risks’ section of all TRAVAX country pages 
• the TRAVAX travel insurance page, as such insurance should be considered essential 
• the fitfortravel COVID-19 health considerations for travel page 
• the UK Border Control website, in order to check current rules regarding self-isolation (quarantine) before your planned return to the UK 
• requirements for COVID-19 testing at their destination prior to return to the UK

Information relating to travel and COVID-19 is available on the TRAVAX (for healthcare practitioners) and fitfortravel (for the public) websites.

Information on COVID-19 for the general public is available on the NHS Inform (Scotland) and the NHS.UK (rest of the UK) websites.

Information and resources on COVID-19 for health professionals is available on the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) (Scotland) and Public Health England (PHE) (rest of the UK) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 19 March 2021

On 17 March 2021, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) advised British Muslims not to make any travel plans or bookings for Hajj 2021, owing to uncertainties around travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the dates for Hajj will be approximately 17 to 22 July, and British Muslims wishing to undertake the pilgrimage should follow the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) guidance on travel.

More information and general advice on Hajj is available on the TRAVAX (for healthcare practitioners) and the fitfortravel (for the public) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 17 March 2021

A new risk assessment has been published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) which evaluates the risk associated with the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) of sequence type (ST) 23 and other STs in the EU/EEA. The assessment follows reports from Ireland of the isolation of hvKp ST23 from both diagnostic samples and rectal or faecal samples collected for the surveillance of carriage of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) since March 2019, with two distinct geographical clusters as well as sporadic cases.

Information on further hvKp ST23 isolates detected in the EU/EEA were found, including 26 cases in public databases and 12 which were submitted by National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) in response to a data request to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Genes Surveillance Network (EURGen-Net). The analysis showed that several of the isolates detected in EU/EEA countries after 2012 carried carbapenemase genes, most frequently blaOXA-48.

The ECDC highlight that the emergence of K. pneumoniae isolates with combined hypervirulence and resistance to reserve antibiotics, such as carbapenems, is of concern. In contrast to typical K. pneumoniae strains, hvKp strains are capable of causing severe infections in healthy individuals, often complicated by dissemination to various body sites.

Source: ECDC, 17 March 2021

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer. Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000.

he theme of World TB Day 2021 is ‘The clock is ticking’, conveying the sense that the world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global leaders. The World Health Organization (WHO) highlight that this campaign is especially critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put measures to end TB at risk.

Further information about World TB Day can be found on the WHO website.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report on tobacco control and its role in improving child health and development. The WHO advocate for awareness raising among practitioners and policymakers regarding the importance of strong tobacco control measures to protect the health and development of children. This includes recommendations around banning tobacco advertising, implementing 100% smoke-free environments, and raising taxes on tobacco.

The WHO states that exposure of unborn children to maternal smoking or second-hand smoke is linked to birth defects, stillbirths, preterm births and infant deaths. Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to a doubling of the risk of sudden infant death and birth defects. The WHO estimates that second-hand smoke kills around 1.2 million people every year, with 65,000 of these premature and preventable deaths occurring in children and adolescents under 15 years of age.

Source: WHO, 16 March 2021

On 17 March 2021, the Food Standards Authority published a report exploring people’s experiences of food during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methodology included a nationally representative survey of 10,069 UK adults, an online deliberative method called Polis with 1,006 UK respondents, a series of four deliberative workshops, and an open access survey of 911 adults.

The report published its findings on the public’s experience during the pandemic in three key areas: 

• food insecurity 
• UK food supply 
• diet and health eating

Source: FSA, 17 March 2021

The Scottish Government are seeking views and comments from stakeholders and the general public on the draft Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products and Oxo-degradable Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations.

These regulations propose introducing market restrictions for problematic single-use plastic (SUP) items and all oxo-degradable products in line with Article 5 of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive 2019/904.

The consultation closes on 13 April 2021 and responses can be submitted on the Scottish Government website.

Source: Scottish Government, 17 March 2021