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Scottish Government Ministers want to recognise the extraordinary effort that front line NHS and social care staff have made to our national effort during this pandemic. There is no mechanism for opting out of receiving the payment or nominating a charity to receive it. All recipients are however free to do with they wish with the payment, including donating to charitable causes if they should choose. Full details have been published at the following link:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): £500 payment for health and social care staff - questions and answers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

On 23 December 2020, the Scottish Government published full details of eligibility for the pro-rata £500 payment, including expected payment dates. Payments to health and care workers will commence in February 2021, with the majority of social care staff receiving payment in March 2021. To reduce the potential impact a single payment may have on any benefits staff may be receiving, we will ask employers to offer the option of spreading this payment over three months. Full details have been published at the following link:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): £500 payment for health and social care staff - questions and answers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . .

Individuals entering Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area must self-isolate for 10 full days unless they are covered under a country or sectoral exemption. Scottish Ministers take decisions about exemptions for travellers to Scotland on the basis of a risk assessment from the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) and advice from the Chief Medical Officer. The JBC monitor information from over 250 countries, territories and islands daily to inform a public health based risk assessment. Information on the assessment methodology is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-risk-assessment
-methodology-for-inbound-international-travel and focuses on weekly incidence rates; test positivity levels; trends in incidence rates; numbers of imported cases and qualitative information on the reliability of reported data. This risk assessment is considered by Ministers on a weekly basis, although immediate action will be taken if the evidence suggests that this is necessary.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 do not require the closure of premises offering car repair and MOT services. Where an area is under a level 3 or level 4 protection it is reasonable excuse to leave that area to fulfil a legal obligation. Given the prevalence of the virus, however, we would urge people to avoid any unnecessary and use local services wherever they can.

The exemption to travel up to 5 miles from the boundary of a level 3 or 4 area under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, relates to informal exercise such as walking, cycling, golf, or running, following the rules around meeting other households. In level 4 areas up to 2 people from 2 separate households can meet outdoors for informal sport or exercise (children under 12 do not count towards households or numbers when meeting outside). Informal exercise refers to exercise that is not organised and therefore does not include club activity or exercise classes.

There is also an exemption provided for those under 18 to travel for organised activities and sport, which includes exercise classes, from level 3 local authorities areas (but not level 4).

There is scientific evidence that face coverings are effective in reducing the transmission of Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the use of face coverings as a non-pharmaceutical intervention. It is widely agreed by the scientific and medical community that face coverings provide a barrier to protect against transmission for those around the wearer should the wearer be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. We also understand that aerosol transmission is more significant than we first thought and that face coverings can provide some protection to the wearer.

In hospitality settings, people are allowed to remove their face covering when they are seated to eat and drink in these settings, because it would be impractical to mandate otherwise. However, there are other settings where we ask people to wear face coverings while seated, such as in places of worship, and this is because it is a measure (when used alongside physical distancing and good hand hygiene) shown to be effective in reducing transmission.

To support faith communities to reopen in line with ongoing restrictions, the Scottish Government has worked closely with them to produce guidance on the safe use of places of worship, available on the Scottish Government website . This includes an exemption for those who are leading an act of worship, leading a funeral service, marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration, provided they can maintain a distance of at least 2 metres from others and/or remain behind a protective screen or barrier. Where this distance cannot be maintained, or they cannot remain behind a screen or barrier, they must also wear a face covering.

Our guidance provides permission, where essential to the act of worship, to briefly removing a face covering to consume food or drink.

The Scottish Government will continue to be guided by the latest Public Health Scotland and Clinical advice and to work closely with faith group representatives from across Scotland on the provision of appropriate guidance, on restrictions necessary for safe worship and the scope for removing or alleviating such restrictions as soon it is considered safe to do so.

The Seasonal Flu Immunisation Programme helps to protect the most vulnerable and alleviate pressure on the NHS. This is more important than ever this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those most at risk from the seasonal flu, who are already eligible to receive the vaccine are:

• Those aged 65 and over,
• Those who have an underlying health condition,
• Pregnant women,
• Health care workers,
• Young and unpaid carers,
• children aged 2-5 (not yet at school), and
• primary school pupils.

This year the Scottish Government expanded free eligibility for the seasonal flu vaccine to include:

• social care workers who provide direct personal care;
• household members of individuals who are shielding; and
• all those aged 60-64 (who are not already eligible) and with the intention to further expand to 59-55.

With the expansion some occupations, such as health and social care workers, are entitled to the free seasonal flu vaccine. This is because they come into contact with a higher proportion of people who are vulnerable to the seasonal flu. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there is pressure on the global supply of seasonal flu vaccine and those at the greatest clinical risk must continue to be prioritised. Therefore teachers who are at higher risk from flu will already be eligible to receive their flu vaccination and will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment.

We want teachers and school leaders to have a break over the festive period, and that’s why Public Health Scotland and the National Contact Tracing Centre are offering support to local authorities to deal with contact tracing issues to minimise the need for school leaders to deal with them over the holidays.

The guidance for meeting throughout the festive period is available on the Scottish Government website. If you do not form a ‘bubble’ over Christmas, you must follow the rules as set out for your local authority. In Level 3 areas, this means meeting in groups of a maximum of 6 people from 2 separate households in indoor settings. Restaurants, pubs and cafes must not serve alcohol and last entry is at 17:00 with the premises closed by 18:00.