Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 02 March 2021
02 Mar 2021 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Covid-19
One of my constituents, who is a merchant seafarer who left Scotland to join his cargo ship before the quarantine rules were introduced, now finds himself unable to continue his job unless he accepts not returning to his home and family, and pays most of his salary in quarantine costs between ships.
Today, he arrived at Edinburgh airport to be told that he could not be quarantined in Edinburgh, but will be bussed to Paisley. That has only added to his deteriorating mental health due to the stress of a lack of shore leave since the outbreak of the pandemic, and the stress of the impact of the quarantine rules. He has been running an 80-metre loop of his ship’s deck to help to manage his wellbeing, and the prospect of being locked up for 10 days without exercise or fresh air is now devastating.
Is the First Minister aware that there appears to be no rooms for managed quarantine in Edinburgh, and will she give permission for my constituent, who has now been forced out of his job by the decision not to allow him to quarantine at home, to at least run in the fresh air during his 10-day forced quarantine, in order to prevent his mental health and wellbeing from deteriorating further?
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