Scotland’s first minister Sturgeon, along with Wales’s first minister Mark Drakeford, on Monday (29 November) called for the UK government’s Cobra committee to convene to discuss a more radical response to the new variant, disclosed by scientists in South Africa last week.
At the weekend, prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed Day 2 PCR testing would be reintroduced as part of a range of measures to mitigate the import of, and spread, of Omicron. This includes requiring all arrivals into the UK to self-isolate until they get the result of their Day 2 test.
Sturgeon and Drakeford, though, wrote to Johnson on Monday, calling for these measures to go further – such as reintroducing Day 8 testing and requiring all arrivals to self-isolate until a Day 8 test comes back negative.
However, Number 10 rejected the request for a Cobra meeting on Omicron. Both Scotland and Wales have so far aligned with the measures set out by the UK government at the weekend.
SPAA president Joanne Dooey said Scotland’s travel sector was "living in hope" the first minister does not decide to introduce new border controls "which deviate from the four nations agreements".
"These changes shows the complexity of organising travel in 2021 and why the advice and knowledge of a travel agent is vital for anyone considering any foreign travel," said Dooey.
"The Omicron variant is already here in Scotland, and it has been established that most of those who have this variant did not travel, picking it up via community transmission. Travel bans or eight-day self-isolation periods does not stop it, so it’s hard to see how these measures – if implemented now – will have an impact.
"It seems that the UK government has reached the same conclusion as Number 10, which has turned down the request for a Cobra meeting of the four nations to discuss this further saying that extending the requirements would have a ‘detrimental effect’ on the travel industry."
‘Vaccine trust’
Dooey added that while the "rapid" decision to place 10 southern African countries on the UK’s red list and to reintroduce hotel quarantine would dent consumer confidence, the vast majority of destinations still require only a two-day period of self-isolation and a negative PCR test.
"Many travellers will feel this is achievable for them if they want to, or need to, travel," said Dooey.
“[Scotland’s] professor of public health, Linda Bauld, has said that it is highly probable that the current vaccine would offer protection against the new variant – but that we would find out more in the next week or so as tests were being carried out. We in the travel sector trust testing and trust the vaccines."
