... as Sturgeon starts a 16-day bar shutdown
drACONIAN measures that will force some pubs and restaurants to shut for 16 days are to be imposed in Scotland from tomorrow night.
Nicola Surgeon has announced the sweeping restrictions on pubs and restaurants in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt to contain the virus’s spread.
People in this area were also warned to avoid public transport unless ‘absolutely necessary’ and told not to travel outside their local area. The restrictions cover around 70 per cent of Scotland’s population.
Hospitality venues elsewhere in Scotland will face a 6pm curfew and be banned from selling alcohol indoors. Outdoor drinking will have to cease at 10pm.
The changes come in at 6pm tomorrow and will last until October 25.
The First Minister acknowledged the measures were a ‘backward step’, but insisted that the ‘short, sharp’ package could prevent an even wider lockdown.
She warned that without immediate action, the virus would be ‘out of control’ within weeks, with cases potentially returning to the levels of March by the end of this month.
Miss Sturgeon promised a £40million package of support for the hospitality sector, but business leaders warned this would ‘not be enough to stop a tidal wave of closures and job losses’.
Willie McLeod, of UK hospitality, said: ‘This is a total catastrophe. Scottish hospitality is already on the brink and is unable to look ahead with any degree of confidence. Forced closures will spell the end for many, many venues which have no cash flow and will have exhausted their reserves.’ Andrew Mcrae, of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, said the move will ‘cause a significant knock- on impact on our tourism sector, on our hospitality supply chain, and on those that operate in our night-time economy like taxi drivers and takeaways’.
In a wide-ranging package of measures, Miss Sturgeon also said that shops would have to return to two-metre social distancing regardless of what mitigating measures are in place.
david Lonsdale, Scottish retail Consortium director, said many businesses would be baffled by the order ‘in the absence of any evidence which shows shops are a source of infection’.
He added: ‘ These additional restrictions may make it impractical for some to trade at all for this period, and the Government must urgently provide details of the proposed support for these viable businesses.’
Miss Sturgeon said she was ‘sorry’ for the ‘significant impact on many businesses’, but insisted the crackdown was essential.
Scotland has seen coronavirus cases rise rapidly in recent weeks. Yesterday there were 1,054 new cases recorded in the previous 24 hours – Scotland’s highest daily total so far. Other measures included a two-week ban on contact sports for adults, with an exemption for professional sport.
Indoor group exercise activities are no longer allowed, though gyms can remain open for individual exercise.
Miss Sturgeon said those in the central belt should avoid public transport and hinted that further travel restrictions could follow.
Schools will remain open and people are not being ordered to work from home. Scotland’s National 5 exams, which are roughly equivalent to GCSEs, have been cancelled for 2021 and will be replaced by teacher assessment and coursework.
Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader ruth davison described the measures as ‘putting further massive restrictions on people’s lives and livelihoods’.
Scottish Labour leader richard Leonard questioned why responsible businesses were being hit rather than just those breaching the rules.