Lockdown may not lift ‘ at all’ when month ends
NICOLA Sturgeon has told people not to expect the current lock down restrictions to be lifted at the end of January. The rules, for the whole of mainland Scotland, are in place until January 31 but the First Minister has given a strong indication that some, or perhaps even, all of them, may be in place for even longer.
Mainland Scotland was put into Level Four lockdown on Boxing Day and then, after New Year, the rules were tightened to mean stay at home except for limited essential reasons.
But with hospital numbers higher than the peak last April and deaths now breaking though the 5000 barrier, it is likely that there will continue to be tough rules going into next month at least.
The First Minister said: “There is unlikely to be a wholesale lifting at the end of January. Maybe even no lifting. We will set that out in due course.”
Instead of being able to give a date for lifting the current restrictions it is possible they will be tightened even further.
Sturgeon revealed that she would announce to the Scottish Parliament today the decision reached on tougher lockdown, such as closing takeaway and click- and- collect services.
She said they were both examples of where people were still able to interact and provide reasons for people leaving their home.
She said: “This virus will spread wherever people come together.”
However, the First Minister said that the restrictions were necessary and that while it was difficult, people understood the need to abide by them.
She said: “My message to the public who are fed up with this is, I feel your pain. We are all scunnered and fed up.
“But I think the majority understands this is something we have to do to keep ourselves and loved ones safe. “There is a pretty grim realism just now in the public.
“We have to stick with it. I’m not going to stand here give a date for when restrictions will be lifted. I cannot do that. It’s about saving lives. That is what we have to remind ourselves of.”
The latest statistics showed there were new 1875 positive tested cases in Scotland in the last 24 hours and 607 were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
There were 1717 people in hospital, an increase of 53. There were 133 people in intensive care – an increase of seven.
Ms Sturgeon also revealed there had been another 54 deaths had been registered of people who had tested positive for Covid- 19 in the last 28 days.
The total deaths have now reached 5023.
Yesterday, the Glasgow Times reported on the scale of the increase in positive cases across Glasgow in recent weeks since Christmas.
We showed the seven- day total number of cases more than doubled from 1036 in the seven days up to December 25 last year, to 2470 in the seven days up to January 8.
It was also announced there had been another 12,565 people had been given their first vaccination jag.
It means until yesterday 175,942 people had received their first dose of a vaccine.