Travel restrictions and self-isolation (quarantine) rules continue to be enforced in order to help reduce the global spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of the UK public. Within the UK, coronavirus restrictions are gradually being lifted, with timetables having been published for their easing in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A cautious approach to resuming international travel is underway for people living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A traffic light system which categorises countries on to a red, amber or green list, based on their COVID-19 risk, is in place for travellers arriving into the UK.

Currently, anyone entering Scotland from countries on the international travel green list will not be required to quarantine on arrival, but will have to take a PCR test for COVID-19 and complete a passenger locator form. The green, amber and red lists were last amended on 8 June 2021, and may change again at short notice. It should be noted that the traffic light system does not indicate which countries are currently allowing UK travellers to enter their country.

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.

Advice for travellers

Prior to booking any international travel, travellers must first check if the country they are travelling to is currently accepting UK travellers. 

• Each country or territory on the FCDO foreign travel advice page provides up-to-date information on their entry rules, in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), under the ‘Entry Requirements’ section. 
• Travellers should be aware that some countries or territories may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination status for entry. For those living in Scotland, England and Wales, guidance for demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status is available. Information on demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status has yet to be announced for Northern Ireland.

It is advised that travellers are aware of all travel restrictions, self-isolation rules and precautions they should take, in order to reduce their risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) before, during and after travel, as detailed on the fitfortravel website.

On return to the UK, travellers should be aware that quarantine rules differ for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prior to their journey, travellers must ensure they are able to comply with the rules appropriate to the UK nation they will be arriving in and reside in, if different.

Source: TRAVAX, 31 May 2021

On 25 May 2021, UK public health authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of two cases of monkeypox in North Wales. The first case arrived in the UK on 8 May 2021, in an individual who had lived and worked in Delta State, Nigeria, where monkeypox is known to occur. On 10 May, the individual developed a rash while self-isolating, and was admitted to hospital on 23 May. On 29 May, a family member living with the individual also became unwell and was admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with monkeypox. Both individuals are now recovering, while public health authorities advise that all necessary precautions have been taken and the risk to the public is low.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that has been reported mainly in central and west African countries, with five cases having been imported into the UK since 2018. Most infections result from direct contact with infected animals, primarily primates and rodents, although person-to-person transmission can occur. Symptoms in humans usually begin with fever and a flu-like illness, followed by the development of a skin rash.

Information and advice for travellers is available from the TRAVAX (for health professionals) and fitfortravel (for the general public) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 14 June 2021

Following a review of the World Health Organization (WHO) annual global report on tuberculosis (TB) for 2020, all relevant TRAVAX country specific pages have been updated to reflect the latest TB vaccination recommendations. Where the risk of TB being multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) is high, this has been highlighted on the relevant country pages of TRAVAX. Both the Green Book and NICE guidelines describe this as an indication for Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination for certain travellers.

The TRAVAX TB page and individual country pages should be consulted for further information.

Source: TRAVAX, 15 June 2021

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) periodically publishes influenza characterisation reports, giving an overview of circulating influenza viruses. These reports provide details on current vaccine strains, summarise the development of viruses since the last report and closely follow the main developments for the ongoing influenza season.

On 11 June 2021, the ECDC published the seventh virus characterisation period report for the 2020 to 2021 influenza season. As of week 20 of 2021, 909 influenza detections across the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region had been reported, of which 52% were type A viruses, with A(H3N2) and A(H1N1)pdm09 being approximately equally represented, and 48% were type B viruses, with 16 having been ascribed to a lineage, 13 being B/Victoria and three B/Yamagata. These figures represent a 99.4% drop in detections compared with the same period in 2020.

Source: ECDC, 11 June 2021

The European Food Safety Authority has published a report on the role of food-producing environments in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Among the various sources and transmission routes identified, fertilisers of faecal origin, irrigation and surface water for plant-based food, and water for aquaculture, are considered of major importance. For terrestrial animal production, potential sources consist of feed, humans, water, air or dust, soil, wildlife, rodents, arthropods and equipment.

EFSA identified the resistant bacteria and genes of highest priority for public health that can be transmitted through the food chain, and reviewed the scientific literature to describe their occurrence in those environmental sources.

Measures to limit the emergence and spread of resistance in food production environments include reducing the faecal microbial contamination of fertilizers, water and feed, and implementation of good hygiene practices. The report also made recommendations on priority areas for research that should help to close data gaps.

Source: EFSA, 15 June 2021

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has published a report designed to address knowledge gaps around the microbial quality of beef mince sold in Scotland. The report details the results of a survey conducted in 2019 on 1,009 samples of beef mince on retail sale across the country. The survey had three main objectives:

• to determine the overall presence of three significant microbiological pathogens and two process hygiene indicators in Scottish beef mince
• to identify levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microbes found in beef mince sold in Scotland
• to identify any differences, such as seasonal or geographic, associated with increased likelihood of microbial contamination

The survey found contamination levels of Campylobacter at 0.1%, Salmonella at 0.3%, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) at 3.5% in the products tested. FSS report that the levels of microbiological quality were encouraging, and in line with similar studies in other countries in the past. The study also identified no significant differences between confirmed STEC and all tested factors, such as season, geographical location, or retailer type.

Source: FSS, 14 June 2021

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published a report presenting the results of the seventh round of the external quality assessment (EQA-7) scheme for Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) typing, organised for national public health reference laboratories (NPHRLs) providing data to the Food and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses Network (FWD-Net).

Human listeriosis is a relatively rare but serious foodborne disease, with an EU notification rate of 0.47 cases per 100,000 of the population in 2018. The objectives of the EQA are to assess the quality and comparability of typing data reported by NPHRLs participating in FWD-Net. Test isolates for the EQA were selected to cover those currently relevant for public health in the EU, and represent a broad range of clinically relevant types for invasive listeriosis. Two sets of 11 test isolates were selected for serotyping and molecular typing-based cluster analysis, and of the 18 laboratories which began the exercise, 17 completed it.

Source: ECDC, 10 June 2021

On 14 June 2021, changes to the questions people are asked before they are accepted as blood donors came into effect, meaning all potential donors are treated equally. The changes, implemented on World Blood Donor Day, will allow more men who have sex with men (MSM), and people whose partners have previously lived in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, to give blood if they meet the other blood donation criteria. Questions about recent sexual activity will be the same for all donors, regardless of their sexuality.

The changes follow recommendations by the specialist research group For Assessment of Individualised Risk (FAIR), made up of medical and academic experts and LGBTI+ groups. However, it should be noted that people will still be unable to donate where there is evidence of recent sexual activity that could lead to a higher risk of a donor having blood-borne virus infection.

Source: Scottish Government, 14 June 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its first report on e-waste and child health, finding that effective action is required to protect millions of children, adolescents and expectant mothers worldwide, whose health may be jeopardised by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices. Workers aiming to recover valuable materials, such as copper and gold, are at risk of exposure to over 1,000 harmful substances, including lead, mercury, nickel, brominated flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The WHO estimate that more than 18 million children and adolescents, some as young as five years of age, are actively engaged in the informal industrial sector, of which waste processing is a sub-sector. Other children live, go to school and play near e-waste recycling centres, where high levels of toxic chemicals, mostly lead and mercury, may be found.

Source: WHO, 15 June 2021

The Scottish Government has published its report on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions for 2019, compiled in-line with international guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The inventory reports on actual emissions or removals of greenhouse gases, including those from international aviation and shipping. Source emissions were 47.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2019, falling by 43.8% between 1990 and 2018, and decreasing by 2.3% between 2018 and 2019.

The Climate Change Committee recommended a new method for recording emissions for the purposes of reporting against targets, which was implemented for the first time in June 2020. This is known as the GHG Account and the calculation is detailed in section C of the statistics release. On this basis, the GHG account reduced by 51.5% between the baseline period and 2019. The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 specifies a 55% reduction over the same period, meaning the target for 2019 has not been met.

Source: Scottish Government, 15 June 2021