Nicola Sturgeon's Covid-19 update RECAP: First Minister set to address Scottish Parliament | Health Secretary Humza Yousaf preparing statement on Scotland's ambulance crisis
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Keep up-to-date with developments as the First Minister and Health Secretary deliver statements to MSPs.
Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf RECAP: Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Key Events
- FM to update MSPs on Covid-19 pandemic
- Yousaf preparing response to ambulance crisis
- A&E waiting times worst on record for fifth time in six weeks
Changes to the traffic light system
From October 4 there will be changes to the traffic light system for international travel.
FM: “The green and amber lists are effectively being merged so that there will only be two categories of country – those on the red list, and all others.
“The current amber list rules will apply to all countries not on the red list.
“That means that only people who have not been fully vaccinated – and are over 18 - will require to self-isolate on returning from those countries.”
Announcement within “next couple of days” on whether Scotland will follow England on tests when travelling
FM: “The UK Government has also announced that for people travelling to and from England, it intends to change the requirements on taking tests before and after international travel.
“Scotland - like Wales and Northern Ireland – has not yet taken a final decision on this, though we will do so within the next couple of days.
“We do have real concerns about easing the requirements on tests. That’s because we still need to guard against new variants of the virus being imported into the country - and also have a way of identifying quickly if a new variant does enter the country.”
Everyone under 18 will be exempt from Covid-19 certification scheme
FM: “Everyone under 18 will be exempt from the requirement to provide proof of vaccination.
“So too will those taking part in vaccine trials; the small number of individuals who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons; and those who work at, or perform in, a venue subject to certification.”
Further details on the scheme will be published later this week says FM.
Covid certification scheme comes into force at 5am on Friday October 1
The scheme will apply to:
- nightclubs and “similar venues”
- live indoor unseated events of more than 500 people
- live outdoor unseated events of more than 4,000
- any event of more than 10,000 people.
FM says that vaccine passports are a proportionate measure to introduce ahead of winter to try to “help get transmission down and keep it down”.
Nicola Sturgeon confirms vaccination passports for Scottish nightclubs and large events
Nicola Sturgeon has outlined the definition of a ‘nightclub’ as she confirmed Scots would need to prove their vaccination status at large events with more than 10,000 people and in late-night venues from October 1.
The scheme, which will apply to indoor and outdoor events and large sporting events including football matches, will operate under a “common sense” approach, Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs.
