Covid in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon warns against travel to Blackpool
Blackpool #Blackpool
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]]> People from Scotland have been warned against travelling to Blackpool after it was linked to a “large and growing” number of Scottish coronavirus cases.
About 180 Scots have tested positive for the virus in the past month after travelling to the seaside town.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would write to the prime minister seeking urgent talks over UK-wide travel restrictions.
And she warned against travelling for non-essential reasons.
She said people who travel for non-essential reasons were putting themselves and others at risk.
Ms Sturgeon has backed calls from the Welsh government for a ban on movement from areas with coronavirus outbreaks.
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Coronavirus cases have been surging in Scotland in recent weeks, with a further 1,429 positive tests being recorded on Wednesday.
Ms Sturgeon said the country was at a “really critical moment”, and said the government “will not shy away from doing what we think is necessary to keep the people of Scotland as safe as possible”.
She said trips to Blackpool – and in particular coach parties – had been linked to “a large and growing number of cases” of the virus in Scotland, with a specific incident management team set up to deal with them.
Over the past month, around 180 people have told contact tracing teams that they had recently been in the Lancashire holiday resort, with 94 of them in the past week.
Ms Sturgeon said the town was being “mentioned in Test and Protect conversations far more than any other location outside of Scotland”, with a particular concern about coach trips.
She said she knew many people would have trips planned for the half-term holidays in October, but said: “If you don’t have to travel right now, do not travel.
Ms Sturgeon singled out football fans in particular, saying supporters of Rangers and Celtic should not travel south to watch Saturday’s derby match between the Glasgow rivals.
Police in England had already warned Old Firm fans about making a cross-border visit for the match while pubs and bars in Glasgow are closed.
The first minister said people should “watch the football at home”, adding: “Do not travel to Blackpool this weekend to watch the Old Firm match in a pub. If you do that you will be putting yourselves and other people at risk please do not do that this weekend.”
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]]> ‘Urgent talks’
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has been leading calls for travel restrictions to be imposed on virus hotspots across the UK, to stop people from carrying the virus from higher prevalence areas into other parts of the country.
He has twice written to the prime minister about the issue, but the Welsh government said they had received no response to either.
Ms Sturgeon said she backed Mr Drakeford, and that she too had now written to Mr Johnson calling for a “sensible agreement” between the four nations.
She said: “Restricting travel right now as much as we possibly can is another unwelcome but important way we can reduce the spread of the virus.”
The first minister said she would not hesitate to put “formal travel restrictions in place if necessary”, but said she hoped people would choose to “do the right thing”.
She said: “It is people’s good sense and good will and sense of solidarity with each other that should still guide us through this.
“I’m not expecting you to obey these rules just because I stand here and ask you to, I’m asking you to obey these rules because they are about keeping you and your loved ones safe and keeping the whole country safe.”
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