Region the worst for distancing
persistently flouted the regulations or refused to cooperate with requests to comply.
During one incident in East Kilbride, three people were fined for failing to comply.
Police were called to a property in Seymour Green in Westwood on March 31 after receiving intelligence two people were unlawfully visiting another’s property.
Officers explained the guidelines and asked the non-residents to leave. They complied initially, but another report was filed about the two – officers returned again to find the pair were still within the address.
The 39-year-old male householder and his two guests, a 36-year-old female and 44-year-old male, were ticketed.
This comes after last week’s stark warning from East Kilbride’s Chief Inspector Lex Baillie who said his officers were not afraid to enforce their new powers.
The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows officers to enforce the testing of individuals with suspected coronavirus. It also allows for the closure of events, gatherings and premises.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations
2020 allow officers to close businesses and premises which flout the government’s guidance. Officers can enforce social distancing among the wider public, with the sanction of penalty notices upon an offence.
Police can issue penalty notices of £30, rising to £60 if not paid within 28 days, where they have reason to believe there has been an offence under the new regulations.
These penalties are doubled for each repeat offence up to a £960 cap.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Everyone should be staying at home wherever possible and I am hugely encouraged by the high levels of compliance around the country after the first week of these rules being in force.
“These rules are in place to slow down the spread of COVID-19 which will protect the NHS and save lives. While Police Scotland have powers of enforcement, I expect that these will be used only as a last resort, and that the vast majority of people will use their common sense and play a full part in this country-wide effort.”
National Clinical Director Jason Leitch said: “The best way of slowing down the spread is social distancing, so I must thank Police Scotland for working with members of the public to keep them safe and encourage them to comply with these regulations.
“I would remind everyone only to leave their house for essential reasons – food, medicine, care, exercise or work you absolutely cannot do them at home – and to stay two metres away from people you don’t live with, and limit human contact.”
A - North East C - Forth Valley D - Tayside E - Edinburgh G - Greater Glasgow J - The Lothians & Scottish Borders
K - Renfrewshire & Inverclyde
L - Argyll & West Dunbartonshire
N - Highland & Islands P - Fife
Q - Lanarkshire
U - Ayrshire
V - Dumfries & Galloway 20 6 1 4 46
9 8
9 1 4 17 18 1
National Clinical Director Jason Leitch said:“The best way of slowing down the spread of coronavirus is social distancing, so I must thank Police Scotland for working with members of the public to keep them safe and encourage them to comply with these regulations.
“I would remind everyone that if you do have to leave your house for any of the essential reasons – food, medicine, care, exercise or work, and you absolutely cannot do them at home – then please stay two metres away from people you don’t live with, and keep human contact as limited as possible.”
South Lanarkshire has the worst record in the UK for ignoring social distancing rules at local beauty spots, according to a recent report.
As global communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing emphasis on public health strategies, like social distancing measures, to slow the rate of transmission.
Google Health’s Community Mobility Reports aim to provide insights into what has changed in response to policies aimed at combating COVID-19.
The reports chart movement trends over time by geography, across different categories of places such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential.
They show how visits and length of stay at different places change compared to a baseline value for that day of the week.
Changes are calculated using the same kind of aggregated and anonymized data used to show popular times for places in Google Maps.
Despite having no beaches or national parks, South Lanarkshire fared worst in the UK for flocking to leisure parks amid the outbreak with a dismal average of -6 per cent against the UK baseline average of -52 per cent.
County figures in other categories were: Retail and Recreation -72 per cent; Grocery and Pharmacy -38 per cent; Transit Stations -57 per cent; Workplace -54 per cent and Residential +14 per cent.