Scotland will significantly tighten protections against Coronavirus (COVID-19) to prevent the spread of the new, highly contagious strain of the virus.
Other than for specific exemptions, travel between Scotland and the rest of the UK will not be legal.
Both Aberdeenshire and Moray will move into tier 4 on Boxing Day for at least 3 weeks. This means All holiday accommodation is closed to tourism and people should stay within their local authority area. Hotels, B&Bs and self-catering can remain open for essential customers only. This includes:
- anyone who is using that accommodation for work purposes
- anyone who requires accommodation to attend a funeral
- anyone who needs accommodation while moving home
- anyone who is unable to return to their main residence
- anyone who requires accommodation to attend a marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration
- anyone who requires accommodation to participate in or facilitate shared parenting arrangements
When providing accommodation to workers, this should only be open for essential workers who require accommodation as part of their role. Workers accommodation guidance.
Breaching the restrictions in the Regulations is a criminal offence, unless you have a “reasonable excuse” for doing so. This means that accommodation providers may offer accommodation to customers in other circumstances provided it is an essential purpose. An example of this would be where someone needs accommodation for an essential hospital visit.
