Coronavirus / Health board advises not to travel off the islands
Under current Covid restrictions there are no restrictions on people travelling between level one and level two areas, although the Scottish Government advises to minimise unnecessary travel to areas in level two.
Currently Shetland, Orkney, the Highlands, Moray and the Western Isles are all in level one.
The health board, however, said in order to protect the local population from the virus its public health advice goes a little further.
A spokesperson for the board said: “The public health advice comes down to the difference between what is legal and what is advisable. For example it is legal to smoke but we would strongly advise against it.
“There are no restrictions on people going to Tier 1 and 2 places but the Government says to minimise unnecessary travel to Tier 2.
“Our public health team has gone a little further saying they are not advising travelling unless it is essential because they are trying to protect the Shetland population.
“The more people move around, the more people are in contact with different groups of people and it all increases the risk.
Details of protection levels in level one, including guidance for the festive period, can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.
NHS Shetland, meanwhile, has confirmed that currently three people are self-isolating locally because of positive test results.
“Of those we know that two clearly picked up the infection whilst off island. All contact tracing has been completed,” NHS Shetland said.
The official count of local Covid-19 infection stands at 75 as of Friday afternoon, but this number is generally be accepted to be an underestimate of the total number of people who have been infected in Shetland.
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