Lockdown measures could last into next year, says Sturgeon

NICOLA Sturgeon has said some coronavirus restrictions could be kept in place for the rest of the year or longer as she warned “a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future”.

The First Minister was speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing as the Scottish Government published a report pledging an easing of the lockdown measures will be “conducted in a phased and careful manner”.

She stressed people will need to “find a way to live with this virus”.

Ms Sturgeon said the number of people i n Scotland who have died after testing positive for the virus is 1,120, up by 58 from 1,062 on Wednesday.

A total of 9,409 people have now tested positive, up by 371 from 9,038 the day before.

In Tayside, 1,159 people have tested positive.

The number of people in intensive care and hospital in Scotland has fallen in the past 24 hours, by seven to 148 and by 28 to 1,776 respectively, which she said is cause for “real optimism”.

But the First Minister warned: “We have to be prepared for some kind of changes to how we live our lives being with us for potentially the rest of this year, maybe even beyond.”

She warned: “As we start to lift the restrictions, the real risk is that Covid-19 runs rampant again.

“So a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future and it’s really important that I am upfront with you about that.

“What we must do is find a new normal, a way of living alongside this virus but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll we know it can do.”