Travel restrictions and self-isolation (quarantine) rules have been implemented across the UK since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of the public.

Travellers arriving directly into Scotland from any country outside the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands) must quarantine for ten days and have a valid Managed Quarantine Facility booked prior to their departure, unless they have an exemption. Travellers who have been in, or travelled through a red list (acute risk) country in the previous ten days, will currently be refused entry to the UK. British or Irish Nationals, and those who have residence rights in the UK, will be able to enter but must quarantine in a government approved managed quarantine hotel for ten days.

The list of countries on the red list (acute risk) is continuously being reviewed and updated based on the risk of new variants of COVID-19 being imported into the UK, and may change at short notice. Travellers should be aware that the rules vary depending on which of the UK four nation countries they arrive in, and should follow the rules both for the UK nation they will be arriving into and for their home nation. More detailed information for travellers arriving in Scotland is available on the Scottish Government website, while information is also available for entry into England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides guidance on travelling abroad, including the latest information on COVID-19 and other non-COVID-19 risks such as safety and security, entry requirements, and travel warnings. This guidance is being kept under constant review and may change at short notice.

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

Before planning or booking international travel, travellers should consider if their journey is essential and legally permitted.  The following sources should be consulted both prior to travel and during the trip, as guidance may change at short notice: 

• the FCDO website, for country specific Travel Advisory Notices regarding travel and entry restrictions, and review the local medical care available at your destination 
• the COVID-19 risk-rating at your destination, which will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section of all fitfortravel country pages and the ‘Emerging Health Risks’ section of all TRAVAX country pages 
• the TRAVAX travel insurance page, as such insurance should be considered essential 
• the fitfortravel COVID-19 health considerations for travel page 
• the UK Border Control website, in order to check current rules regarding self-isolation (quarantine) before your planned return to the UK 
• requirements for COVID-19 testing at their destination prior to return to the UK

Information relating to travel and COVID-19 is available on the TRAVAX (for healthcare practitioners) and fitfortravel (for the public) websites.

Information on COVID-19 for the general public is available on the NHS Inform (Scotland) and the NHS.UK (rest of the UK) websites.

Information and resources on COVID-19 for health professionals is available on the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) (Scotland) and Public Health England (PHE) (rest of the UK) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 1 April 2021

World Health Day takes place on 7 April 2021. The theme this year is ‘Building a fairer, healthier world for everyone’. COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on communities that were already vulnerable. These groups are more exposed to the disease, less likely to have access to quality healthcare services, and more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.

This World Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for action to eliminate health inequalities, as part of a year-long global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign urges leaders to monitor health inequalities, and to ensure all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them.

More information and resources on World Health Day are available on the WHO website.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published a technical report, presenting a snapshot of hepatitis B and C testing in the EU/EEA. It discusses progress made towards the European action plan 2020 testing target, focussing on key populations and settings for testing, barriers to testing, and testing policies.

The ECDC report that many people living with chronic hepatitis B and C infections in the EU/EEA are not aware of their infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) European Region hepatitis action plan testing target for 2020 is for 50% of people living with chronic hepatitis B and C to be diagnosed and aware of their condition. Reported data from 2017 show that the region is far from meeting this target, with around one-fifth of people with hepatitis B and one-quarter of people with hepatitis C diagnosed.

The ECDC has also published a report monitoring progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 target to combat viral hepatitis. It provides data on hepatitis B and C prevention, incidence, diagnosis, treatment, cure or viral suppression, and mortality in EU/EEA countries, with data collected in 2019. In terms of elimination, the available data indicates that most countries are not on track to meet the WHO targets for reduction in hepatitis B and C incidence and attributable mortality by 2030. For prevention, available data show good progress on hepatitis B childhood vaccination programme coverage in most countries, but sub-optimal coverage of harm reduction measures for people who inject drugs to prevent hepatitis C in many reporting countries.

For almost all indicators, a large number of countries did not report data. A lack of robust, reliable data presents a challenge to making progress on the viral hepatitis epidemic. The ECDC conclude that improved monitoring systems and reporting are needed to better understand and take action on hepatitis B and C in the European region.

Source: ECDC, 26 March 2021 & ECDC, 29 March 2021

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has been conducting country visits to discuss antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issues since 2006. The objectives of these visits are to provide assistance with the development, review, and implementation of national strategies and actions plans on AMR, to exchange experience and knowledge on initiatives taken by EU/EEA countries, and to document the AMR situation and control efforts being made in the country visited.

In 2006, to standardise evaluation and reporting, an assessment tool was developed, covering ten areas that have an impact on the control of AMR, as outlined in the European Council (EC) recommendation on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine. This updated assessment tool, which outlines the indicators for human health and the joint parts of the country visits, is designed to be used in conjunction with respective EC assessment tools for the veterinary and environmental sectors.

Source: ECDC, 30 March 2021

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports that monitoring data on the presence of residues of veterinary medicines and contaminants in animals and animal-derived food show high rates of compliance with recommended safety levels in the EU. The report summarises monitoring data collected in 2019 and is underpinned by information available on the Knowledge Junction, the EFSA’s open repository.

The percentage of samples that exceeded maximum levels was 0.32%. This figure is within the range of 0.25%-0.37% reported over the previous ten years. A total of 671,642 samples were checked by EU member states, Iceland and Norway.

Compared to the previous two years, non-compliance increased slightly for antithyroid agents and steroids. Small decreases were noted for resorcylic acid lactones, prohibited substances, antibacterials, anticoccidials, and dyes.

Source: EFSA, 24 March 2021

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has launched a new on-farm incident prevention campaign, urging farmers to be aware of lead sources on their land which could cause poisoning amongst their livestock. This follows the number of lead poisoning incidents reported to FSS in 2020 amounting to more than those in 2018 and 2019 combined.

In 2020, FSS dealt with ten lead poisoning incidents on Scottish farms, resulting in the deaths of 18 cattle and the temporary restriction of 318 animals. There were four reported incidents in 2018 and three in 2019, which resulted in the death of ten cattle and the temporary restriction of 158 animals in the years combined.

Source: FSS, 24 March 2021