Plans to ease lockdown but risk is still too high for now

NICOLA Sturgeon said the government is making preparations to ease lockdown but for now the restrictions must remain.

In a televised address to Scotland she said that the progress was still “fragile” and warned “If we ease up too soon, the virus could run out of control again”.

The First Minister warned that “would mean more people dying and all of us staying in lockdown much longer”.

Sturgeon said: “As the infection rate continues to fall, we will gradually relax the restrictions. And we are already making preparations for that.

“We are working with businesses to produce guidance on safe workplaces.

“We are working on the changes needed on public transport. And we are talking to teachers and parents about how and when schools can safely return.

“We are doing all of that carefully because it is vital that when we do ask you to return to work or to school, you have clarity about what we are asking you to do and also confidence that it is safe.”

However, she said: “I want to make sure that as we take each step on the path to recovery, the ground beneath us is as solid as possible. But I will not keep these restrictions in place longer than necessary.

“As First Minister, I know the impact this has on all of you. And as a citizen, I miss my family too.

“But I won’t risk unnecessary deaths by acting rashly or prematurely.

“So I am asking you please, for the moment, to continue to do what you have been doing so responsibly.”