International travel continues to be severely restricted due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with a cautious approach to resumption underway for people living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland since late spring 2021. Travelling abroad carries a risk of bringing new cases and variants of COVID-19 back into the UK, therefore travellers are still advised to consider whether their trip abroad is necessary before booking travel. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) continues to advise against travel to red list countries.

A traffic light system which categorises countries on to a red, amber or green list, based on their COVID-19 risk, is in place for travellers arriving into the UK. It should be noted that the traffic light system does not indicate which countries are currently allowing UK travellers to enter their country.

Currently, anyone entering Scotland from countries on the international travel green list will not be required to quarantine on arrival, but will have to take a PCR test for COVID-19 and complete a passenger locator form. On 8 August 2021, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland updated their rules for returning to the UK from some red, amber and green list countries. 

On return to the UK, travellers should be aware that testing and quarantine rules differ for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Prior to their journey, travellers must ensure they are able to comply with the rules appropriate to the UK nation they will be arriving in and reside in, if different.

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

Prior to booking any international travel, travellers must first check if the country they are travelling to is currently accepting UK travellers.

• Each country or territory on the FCDO foreign travel advice page provides up-to-date information on their entry rules, in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), under the ‘Entry Requirements’ section.  
• Travellers should be aware that some countries or territories may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination status for entry. Guidance for demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status is available for those living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It is advised that travellers are aware of all travel restrictions, self-isolation rules and precautions they should take, in order to reduce their risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) before, during and after travel, as detailed on the fitfortravel website.

Source: TRAVAX, 29 July 2021

Since early 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented international border closures and travel restrictions. Consequently, the TRAVAX team are aware that healthcare professionals who provide travel medicine services may not have engaged in related clinical practice for some time, and wish to raise awareness of travel health education courses currently available in the UK.

In recent months, the faculty of travel medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow (RCPSG) has launched some new courses, including a professional development certificate in travel medicine and a postgraduate diploma in travel medicine. Details of other travel health education courses available in the UK can be found on the TRAVAX courses page.

Guidance on minimum training standards for healthcare professionals delivering travel health services, including competency frameworks and tools, are freely available.

• Competencies: travel health nursing: career and competence development, provided by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been written for nurses, but is applicable to other healthcare professionals providing travel health services, including doctors and pharmacists. 
• Good practice guidance for providing a travel health service, provided by the RCPSG faculty of travel medicine, details essential competencies that a practitioner should be able to evidence, and includes an example of a competency assessment tool.

Source: TRAVAX, 11 August 2021

On 6 August 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a confirmed case of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Guéckédou Prefecture, Nzérékoré Region, in south-western Guinea. The patient developed symptoms on 25 July 2021 and died on 2 August 2021, and was the first known case of MVD in West Africa.

Advice for travellers

MVD is a viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), which may infect humans following direct contact with the reservoir host, African fruit bats, or from direct contact or droplet spread from infected humans or non-human primates. Generally, the risk of travellers becoming infected or developing the disease is extremely low.

Travellers visiting known MVD outbreak areas must: 

• be made aware of the risk of infection and transmission routes of the virus, while medical personnel travelling to work in an outbreak region must follow strict infection prevention control guidance 
• seek rapid medical attention if they develop a fever within 21 days of return to the UK, if returning from a MVD outbreak area or if they have had contact with individuals infected with a VHF, and should call NHS24 (Scotland) or NHS111 (rest of the UK) for advice prior to attending UK medical facilities 

Further information and advice on VHF, including MVD, is available on the TRAVAX (for health professionals) and fitfortravel (for the general public) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 10 August 2021

The Scottish Government has announced that the flu vaccination programme is to be extended, meaning more people in Scotland will be offered the flu vaccine. Those people eligible for the flu vaccine now include: 

• those aged 50 and over 
• those aged six-months to 49 years who have certain underlying health conditions which increase risk 
• pregnant women 
• children aged two-to-five years who are not yet at school 
• health and social care staff 
• unpaid and young carers 
• all primary and secondary school-aged children who are in a school setting 
• independent NHS contractors, including those working at GP, dental and optometry practices and community pharmacists 
• laboratory staff working on COVID-19 testing, including support staff 
• teachers, nursery teachers and support staff in close contact with pupils 
• prison staff and support staff in close contact with the prison population, delivering direct detention services 
• those in the prison population

The flu vaccination programme will run from September 2021 until March 2022. The Scottish Government is urging all those eligible to take up the offer of a vaccine as soon as possible after invitation, to help protect themselves and others, and assist the NHS and social care services in avoiding additional pressure over the winter period.

Source: Scottish Government, 8 August 2021

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a report examining different international approaches and processes in the regulation of genetically modified (GM) and novel foods. The report explored several aspects of food safety regulation, including definitions, underlying legislation, authorisation processes and production standards.

A novel food is any food or substance that has not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the EU before 15 May 1997. Since then, there have been over 90 novel foods authorisations approved for use by the EU. Novel foods and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are subject to a large variation in regulatory approaches around the world, for which many countries have specifically developed their own regulatory frameworks to control the placement of such products on their markets.

Countries of interest for novel foods that were selected for review by the FSA included Australia, Canada, Japan, and the USA, with a focus on their approach to novelty determination, authorisation processes, differences in terminology, safety standards, and evidence-based requirements. In the regulatory approaches for GMOs, the countries reviewed were Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the USA.

Source: FSA, 9 August 2021

The United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published the first part of its sixth assessment report (AR6), summarising the physical science basis for climate change, and bringing together the findings from more than 14,000 peer-reviewed studies.

In key findings from the report: 

• Each of the last four decades has been successively warmer than any decade that preceded it since 1850. 
• The global surface temperature was 1.09C higher between 2011 and 2020 than between 1850 and 1900, with larger increases over land than over oceans. 
• The past five-years have been the hottest on record since 1850. 
• The global mean sea level increased by 0.2m between 1901 and 2018. 
• Human influence is very likely the main driver of the global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s. 
• It is virtually certain that hot extremes, including heatwaves, have become more frequent and more intense since the 1950s, while cold events have become less frequent and less severe.

The report also details possible climate futures, climate information for risk assessment and regional adaptation, and a discussion around limiting future climate change.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is warning that a new trend appears to be establishing in Scotland, with seven abandoned trailers full of waste having been discovered in the central belt in recent months. Investigations to establish the source of the trailers are ongoing, and could lead to the prosecution of those responsible.

Similar instances of waste being placed into trailers and then abandoned at roadsides and industrial locations have been seen in England over recent months. Working alongside partners through the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, SEPA has been tracking this growing trend across the UK since last year.

SEPA is warning waste criminals that compliance with Scotland’s environmental laws is non-negotiable, and those caught risk a criminal conviction as well as a fine of up to £40,000 and the possibility of imprisonment. Further, SEPA ask that the public remain vigilant and report suspicious vehicles and activity so action can be taken swiftly. 

Source: SEPA, 6 August 2021

Naloxone is a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and may help to prevent overdose deaths. A four-nation consultation has been launched to assess the viability of proposals to widen access to naloxone, by expanding the list of services and individuals that can provide the drug without a prescription or other written instruction.

After a change in guidelines in Scotland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, families of those who use drugs, as well as a wide range of professionals who work in non-drugs services, have been allowed to legally supply take-home naloxone kits to anyone likely to witness an overdose. Normally, naloxone is only legally available across the UK on prescription, or from certain drug treatment services without a prescription.

The consultation is open until 28 September 2021, and responses from individuals or organisations who have experience or expertise in substance use disorders are welcome.

Source: Scottish Government, 11 August 2021