Covid Scotland: Scots woman granted exemption after being forced to quarantine in hotel while father lay terminally ill in hospital

A Scottish woman who was being forced to quarantine in a hotel after returning from a red list country to visit her dying father has been granted an exemption by the Scottish Government allowing her to leave and isolate at home.

Claire Herriot, 39, flew from Turkey to Scotland after being told by doctors that her father Gordon, 75, was approaching the end of his life due to major organ failure.

However, when she arrived in Scotland she was forced into a quarantine hotel and had only been allowed to visit her father once – on Wednesday – at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital before being told she had to return to her hotel for the remainder of the 10 day isolation period.

After writing to the Scottish Government describing her situation as an “absolute disgrace”, Ms Herriot has been granted an exemption allowing her to quarantine at home.

She told the Scotsman on Friday: “My family and I are grateful to the Scottish Government for granting the quarantine exemption I’d asked for.

"I’ll isolate at home, test on day eight and visit my dad in hospital.

"I hope the flexibility shown in my case will help others in similar situations.”

Claire flew from Turkey to Scotland after being told by doctors that her father Gordon was approaching the end of his life.

She flew to Scotland on Tuesday and began what was supposed to be a ten-day quarantine period at Hampton by Hilton near Edinburgh Airport as the hotels used in Glasgow were full.

While being forced to isolate Ms Herriot said she felt she was going through a mental health crisis brought on by the distressing circumstances, describing the rules as “cruel, arbitrary and logically indefensible.”

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