Scottish Islands

[Cismyfatarse1]

I have recently seen a video from Colonsay asking Nicola Sturgeon to allow them to ban all visitors.

You can sail to Canna, but not get off and go on the island.

Eigg asks for 14 days' quarantine if anyone on the island leaves and comes back. Or it did.

Can they do this? Aren't islands part of Scotland and therefore (now) open to all?

It makes me very uneasy. Coupled with nutters at the border shouting at 'English' traffic. It all feels rather xenophobic and unpleasant.

Some of it is downright racist ("Chinese people seen in Glenfinnan. Oh, I am so scared.")

CalMac is making it hard for people to travel, even now it is allowed.

Are we breaking down into smaller and smaller more isolated units?

Maybe she's having an off day?
I heard that if a visitor with COVID symptoms ( temperature check)gets on a ferry to go home they won't be allowed to travel and will have to self isolate on the islands. Hopefully they won't get worse and have to be in ICU as there are very limited beds available. I think this is where the fear comes from and also the very unfair way that tickets are being sold on the open market meaning family visits compete with tourists for spaces. It's very complicated.

She's tweeted about other stuff so not sure that the radio silence on this is accidental.

I'm honestly not sure how the ferries are working but it's a shame if families don't get to see each other.

We wanted to distance visit with bil when we were off but he's currently having cancer treatment and lives in an upstairs flat so that didn't happen.

I’m not sure people realise how isolated the island communities are in Scotland and how little facilities they have. If covid comes to an island, the chance of people dying is higher than in other places because the likelihood of their being able to access adequate medical care is lower. This seems entirely reasonable to me.

I also think it’s silly to claim that if restrictions are put in place to impose quarantine on people travelling from England, this is racist. We have had different, more stringent rules in Scotland and our numbers are lower. It’s reasonable for jurisdictions with lower numbers of cases to want to limit travel from countries with higher numbers - lots of countries are doing this. No one is calling NZ racist, they are calling then sensible. And it’s got nothing to do with where you’re from, it’s only about where you’re travelling from, so is not about race. We’re travelling to England to see my family, and if this is in force we will have to quarantine at home when we get back. This will be annoying but I think it’s reasonable and we will do it.

I think it's perfectly understandable to be wary about tourists when there's no adequate medical facilities. The air ambulance can't even always get in when the weather is bad.

Couldn't agree more cremuel. Plenty countries did the sensible thing and closed their borders without being labelled racist, if the UK had been sensible and done this we could have avoided lockdown. As a lone parent I need my child back in school in August in order to keep my job so would quite like to avoid a rise in cases simpy because people fancy a holiday .

www.heraldscotland.com/news/18562133.tensions-rise-tourists-community-safety-new-covid-19-hotspots-scotland-emerge/?fbclid=IwAR0w0J3EZw5VnUm4etcmOilLXNDX2V-bbOdbT5PPYXhD8PGN9CcbYKapifM

This references some of the arguments. Camille Dressler is on Eigg.

www.heraldscotland.com/news/18562133.tensions-rise-tourists-community-safety-new-covid-19-hotspots-scotland-emerge/?fbclid=IwAR0w0J3EZw5VnUm4etcmOilLXNDX2V-bbOdbT5PPYXhD8PGN9CcbYKapifM

This references some of the arguments. Camille Dressler is on Eigg.

@TakemetoGreeceplease

Couldn't agree more cremuel. Plenty countries did the sensible thing and closed their borders without being labelled racist, if the UK had been sensible and done this we could have avoided lockdown. As a lone parent I need my child back in school in August in order to keep my job so would quite like to avoid a rise in cases simpy because people fancy a holiday .

I'm sorry, I'm not making any comment on your post one way or another but I'm just at your username while making it.

I understand the concern but Eigg and Colonsay are hardly going to be overrun with folk who got lost on the way to Blackpool.
In shock news, people who live in England are also generally quite keen not to contract Covid 19.
I suspect the people who have booked to go to the Highlands and Islands this summer will be there to enjoy the beautiful scenery, the mountains and a very welcome change of scene.
The idea that ‘infected’ English tourists will be running amok spreading the virus is ridiculous.
Who will pay for the loss of revenue to the tourist industry ?

I also think it’s silly to claim that if restrictions are put in place to impose quarantine on people travelling from England, this is racist.

It's not about that though is it? There aren't restrictions at the border but people decided to tell other folk to not come to Scotland on the assumption that they were English - that's racist or xenophobic or however you want to phrase it.

I don't agree with what they did but it appears there were a few English (and a Polish woman for all it matters) at the border protest, whatever you want to call it, yesterday.
People in Cornwall doing the same.. f off holidaymakers. Not condoning it at all but can't say I see it as racist.

NZ doesn't have a land border though.

And cornwall protestors were not waving flags or tweeting about independence were they? Although yes they are twats.

“I understand the concern but Eigg and Colonsay are hardly going to be overrun with folk who got lost on the way to Blackpool.”

What’s that supposed to mean?....

YonBonnie I haven't seen any tweets from them? Can you link?

Island communities are also very worried about islanders who work off shore or on the mainland coming home with c-19. It's a worry because we have an elderly population and a very, very limited number of local icu beds or indeed hospital beds at all. If it comes to the islands it will decimate us. It's not about tourism it's about movement of people. Cool your jets about taking your tourist cash elsewhere. Our communities don't rely on you entirely you know. Estimates are about 8% of the economy here. Significant but not the be all. I'd rather people didn't die tbh.

Island communities are also very worried about islanders who work off shore or on the mainland coming home with c-19. It's a worry because we have an elderly population and a very, very limited number of local icu beds or indeed hospital beds at all. If it comes to the islands it will decimate us. It's not about tourism it's about movement of people. Cool your jets about taking your tourist cash elsewhere. Our communities don't rely on you entirely you know. Estimates are about 8% of the economy here. Significant but not the be all. I'd rather people didn't die tbh.

are you asking about the scottish border guards or the cornwall border guards?

I don't live at all remotely but I totally agree with these people living on remote islands. People need to stay local for the moment. Why do people think its OK to suddenly travel up to these places where healthcare is not easy to access? We adore Scotland (live in England), we have a camper and haven't used it at all this year, when we do it will be locally, because we aren't selfish entitled bastards.

I dont know how to link to individual twitter accounts but here are pictures from twitter

apparently Nicola consented to the protests

And spot the Yes flag

So nothing about independence.
Are you seriously saying @YouBonnieBanks that you think these people contacted NS and asked her if they could go to a layby in the borders? Has she got a direct line? Postcard to Holyrood?
That's obviously someone taking the p.

@ButterflyWitch
Travel isn't restricted is it?

CalMac is making it hard for people to travel, even now it is allowed
.
How so?

tabulahrasa, what I mean is that I don’t think Eigg is going to be overrun by hen and stag do’s looking for nightclubs and being too pissed to remember to social distance,
But if the Highlands and Islands really don’t need to tourism for their economy, then maybe they should stop advertising themselves as a tourist destination.
I’m still looking forward to my holiday in Scotland at the end of July, providing I change my English number plates, ensure my DC don’t speak with their English accents in public, ( my DH and I both have Scottish accents ) and remember not to express an opinion on anything.
Welcome to Scotland.

BusyDreaming there is a huge difference between (much of) mainland Scotland and the islands. Crack on and visit places that have hospitals and ICU beds, but many islands do not have any ICU beds. If there is an outbreak on some of the smaller islands it could be a disaster.