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THOUSANDS of pubs and restaurants were dealt another massive blow yesterday as they were ordered to close.
Nicola Sturgeon reimposed the crackdown on cash- strapped premises in the Central Belt to curb the rising number of Covid cases.
But hospitality bosses insisted they had been unfairly treated.
PUBS and restaurants across the Central Belt will be forced to close tomorrow night in a hammer blow for the stricken hospitality industry.
Nicola Sturgeon reimposed drastic restrictions on social life as the number of people testing positive for Covid soared above 1000 yesterday.
The First Minister warned action was required to prevent the number of infections returning to levels last seen in the spring.
The number of deaths last week was the highest for 14 weeks while it is estimated the number of new cases is growing by seven per cent a day.
“So the need to act – and to act across the country – is clear,” Sturgeon told MSPs.
The toughest restrictions will be in the five health board areas with the highest number of infections – Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Forth Valley, and Lothian.
Every licensed premises in those areas will have to close at 6pm tomorrow and will not be able to reopen until October 26 at the earliest.
Cafes and unlicensed restaurants can remain open but must close by 6pm each day.
Pubs and bars in the rest of Scotland will be able to serve meals and non-alcoholic drinks indoors until 6pm but will also be able to serve alcohol outdoors until 10pm. Hotels and other holiday accommodation will be permitted to stay open across the country.
While there is no official travel ban, Scots living in the five Central Belt areas are being encouraged not to take public transport unless it is for work or school.
Temporary restrictions will be lifted on October 26, apart from in the Central Belt, where the situation will be reviewed and restrictions could be in force for longer.
Sturgeon said she was “grateful” for the work done by hospitality businesses to stop the spread of coronavirus.
But the First Minister told MSPs: “The evidence paper published today sets out why these settings present a particular risk.
“The R number seems to have risen above one approximately three weeks after the hospitality sector opened up.
“We know that more than one fifth of people contacted by test and trace report having visited a hospitality setting.”
She added: “All of these reasons, significantly restricting licensed premises for 16 days, removes one of the key opportunities the virus has to jump from household to household.
“It is an essential part of our efforts to get the R number significantly below one.” The new clampdown comes two weeks after the Scottish Government banned meetings of households indoors and imposed a 10pm curfew on the hospitality sector.
The Federation of Small Businesses’s Andrew McRae said: “Without sufficient support from government, today’s moves could mean last orders for many i nd ependent pubs and restaurants.
“They’ll also 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.
“While we welcome the announcement of a £40million package of support funding, speed
is now of the essence.” Scottish Conservatives leader at Holyrood, Ruth Davidson, said: “Our hospitality sector has complied with everything that has been asked of them.
“But many of these small businesses are running on empty and all reserves are gone.
“Nicola Sturgeon has been warning of the potential of a second wave or possible regional lockdown measures for weeks.
“We know there were problems in businesses accessing support after the lockdown in Aberdeen.
“A discussion about how to compensate businesses that might be affected should have taken place weeks ago.
“A one-day consultation after today’s announcement – just hours before b u sinesse s are forced to close their doors – is not good enough.
“These businesses deserve better. They need to know how much they can apply for, when they can apply for it and how long they will have to wait before support reaches them.”