Lockdown restrictions in Glasgow relaxed, but easing of COVID rules to be delayed for many areas

Nicola Sturgeon has delayed plans to ease COVID restrictions for huge swathes of Scotland over fears of a third wave of the pandemic. 

It was hoped most of mainland Scotland could move down to level one of the Scottish Government’s route-map out of lockdown, however Edinburgh and Midlothian, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, all three Ayrshires, North and South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire and Stirling will remain in level two for a further period of time.

However, there was good news for Glasgow, which will move from level three to level two at midnight on Friday, effectively ending the strict lockdown the city has been in for the last nine months.  

The Highlands, Argyll and Bute, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Falkirk, Fife, Inverclyde, East and West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Borders will all move to level one.

Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles will move down to level zero.

The First Minister said Scotland was in a “transition” phase. She said the vaccines had changed the game, breaking the chain between rising cases of the virus and hospital admissions, but said the government had a duty to act cautiously. 

The biggest difference between level two and level one means eight rather than six people from up to three households being able to socialise indoors. Groups of 12 from 12 households can socialise outdoors in these areas.

It also means hospitality will be allowed to open indoors until 11pm, with the same restrictions on the number of households socialising as above.

All leisure and entertainment venues apart from adult entertainment and nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, with the maximum capacity for indoor events increased to 200, for outdoor seated events up to 1,000 and up to 500 for free-standing outdoor events.

Weddings, funeral and wakes or receptions will also see their attendance limit rise to 100.

Sturgeon said: “In areas where cases are relatively high or rising, our judgment is that a slight slowing down of the easing of restrictions, to allow time for more people to be fully vaccinated, will help protect our progress overall.

"However, it is also our judgment that with case numbers as high as they are in these areas and with a substantial proportion of adults not yet double dosed - it is safer, and more likely to protect our progress overall, if we hold these areas in level two for a further period.”

She added: “That means protecting the NHS can’t just be about preventing it from being completely overwhelmed - although that is of course vital. It must also be about protecting its ability to get services back to normal.

“So even although the health service ‘coped’ earlier this year, when more than 2,000 people were in hospital - albeit with enormous pressure on the workforce - that shouldn’t be our benchmark. Anything remotely like that again would set back efforts to get the NHS operating normally again.

“So this is a key and difficult moment. We remain on the right track overall. I remain confident that - with cautious, albeit difficult decisions now - we will enjoy much greater normality over the summer and beyond.”

The First Minister added that 478 positive cases had been registered, with test positivity at 3.1 per cent.

A total of 106 people are in hospital, down four from yesterday, with 10 people in ICU, up two.