Scottish Government plans to put students returning from red-list covid countries have been slammed by opposition parties and experts.
Plans being explored by the Scottish Government include placing young people coming to Scotland to study on boats at sea to quarantine when they arrive in September.
The Sunday Times reported the government is in discussions with the cruise sector as more than 5,000 students from red-list countries are expected to enter the country.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross called the plans “a slap in the face” to young learners and the country’s cruise industry.
We revealed earlier this year ships were being stopped from docking at Scottish ports as a result of Holyrood regulations, even though they could land at other UK sites.
Infection control “difficult” on cruise ships
Linda Bauld, public health professor at Edinburgh University, suggested placing students on cruise ships to quarantine would be more difficult to monitor than hotels.
She told The Sunday Times: “Cruise ships pose particular challenges for infection control as they involve shared facilities and enclosed indoor areas where viruses can easily spread.
“There have been a number of well-documented Covid-19 outbreaks on cruise ships from early in the pandemic. In fact, the first British citizen to die from Covid-19 did so in Japan after becoming infected while in quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
“If ships are being considered as managed quarantine facilities for people travelling to the UK from red-list countries, I’d be very interested to learn how this is to be organised and why ships would be chosen instead of quarantine hotels, for example.”
A “slap in the face”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “It is incredible that the SNP are even considering proposals to use cruise ships to quarantine students arriving for the new term.
“The idea of potentially thousands of students being forced into quarantine on a ship for ten days will be a concern to many.
“The introduction of the hotel quarantine system here in Scotland was a botched mess and this idea would appear to face many of the same issues.
“Of course, there will be capacity issues as we manage students arriving from abroad but there must be other alternatives to these draconian proposals.
“These proposals would also be a slap in the face for the cruise sector, which have been stopped from sailing to Scottish ports and are now being considered as temporary student accommodation.
“The SNP need to set out the rationale for these proposals and, if they are to be introduced, what measures are going to be put in place to protect student welfare.”
University help
Scotland’s universities have said they would aid students and engage with the Scottish Government regarding quarantine concerns.
Dundee University announced earlier this week they would cover managed quarantine costs of up to £1,750 per international student arriving from a “red list” country.
On students facing quarantine on arrival, St Andrews and Aberdeen Universities said they would continue to work with the Scottish Governments.
A spokesperson for St Andrews University said: “The University of St Andrews is working with the Scottish Government and clinicians to find a sensible approach to providing managed isolation at the university in an environment where students can be supported by the full range of university services.
“The university has demonstrated a solid track record of managing quarantine since the pandemic started in March 2020 and remains hopeful that this will be supported by the Scottish Government to allow managed isolation to be provided within our university residences.”
A spokesperson for Aberdeen University said: “We continue, with the rest of the sector, to engage closely with the Scottish Government to ensure that students and staff coming to Aberdeen from out of the UK are supported through any self-isolation requirements that will be in place.”