Nicola Sturgeon has banned non-essential travel to additional areas of the North West and has issued new travel advice for visitors to Blackpool and other areas of Lancashire.
Scotland’s first minister announced new measures today (June 18) amid rising coronavirus cases in the region and the spread of the delta variant.
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Last month the Scottish government banned all Blackburn and Darwen residents from visiting the country and Scottish residents from visiting the East Lancashire district.
Unnecessary trips from Scotland to Manchester and Salford will be banned from Monday (June 21) due to “high Covid values”.
The First Minister has also issued new guidelines for Scots planning to visit Blackpool and other parts of Lancashire in the coming weeks.
Blackpool is a popular spot for Scottish tourists in the summer to watch mostly football matches.
The announcement came just hours before the England-Scotland game at Wembley this evening.
Speaking at a coronavirus briefing this afternoon, she said: “However, I regret that we are also introducing travel restrictions between Scotland and two English cities.
“Manchester and Salford currently have very high Covid levels and therefore non-essential travel between Scotland and these cities will not be allowed as of Monday.
“Unnecessary travel is already banned between Scotland and Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen.
“Anyone traveling elsewhere in the Greater Manchester or Lancashire region should carefully consider whether their trip is really necessary as cases are increasing across the region.”
“I understand that these new measures will be disappointing for those with family or friends in Manchester or Salford – or for anyone with just one visit planned.”
LancsLive reported in October 2020 how the First Minister warned Scots to stay vigilant from Blackpool after an outbreak of Covid cases in the country was linked to the seaside resort.
As of this morning, a total of 75,953 confirmed and probable cases of the Covid-19 delta variant have been identified in the UK, Public Health England said – an increase of 33,630, or 79%, from the previous week.
Of the 75,953, 70,856 were in England, 4,659 in Scotland, 254 in Northern Ireland and 184 in Wales.
The latest data shows that 99% of confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus across the country are delta variants.
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