NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Business bosses fear festive slump from Tier 4 restrictions
South Lanarkshire will be plunged into Scotland’s toughest tier of coronavirus restrictions from tomorrow (Friday, November 20).
The First Minister ( below) confirmed the region would be placed in Tier 4 for three weeks in a bid to lower the spread of Covid-19 and take pressure off the NHS.
Hospitality, salons, gyms, hairdressers and non- essential retail will have to close when the new restrictions come into effect at 6pm.
Lanarkshire’ s business leaders were left disappointed by the move – saying that for a lot of local firms Christmas is already “cancelled”.
Alan Kirkwood, vice-chairman of Lanarkshire Business Group, said: “A lot of the retail sector is centered around Christmas and their profits carry them into next year. Some of the cafes were looking at how they would do a socially distant Santa’s grotto but now that’s stopped and won’t be invested in for December 11 as it might be another week.”
And the Federation of Small Businesses warned that South Lanarkshire’s smallest traders will be hit the hardest.
Travel restrictions — which already apply to level three areas — will be made law, meaning residents will only be able to travel outwith their local authority area for essential purposes. ●
Level four lockdown will be coming to Lanarkshire from tomorrow First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
Businesses including hospitality, salons, gyms, hairdressers and non-essential retail will have to close when the new restrictions come into effect at 6pm.
For three weeks, Lanarkshire will be put into the highest level of restrictions used by the Scottish Government before being lifted on Friday, December 11.
Travel restrictions – which already apply to level three areas – will be made law, meaning residents will only be able to travel outwith their local authority area for essential purposes.
Schools will remain open and take-away and click and collect services will still be allowed to operate.
A further 282 people in Lanarkshire were confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday as total case numbers in the region hit 17,002.
The Fi r s t Mi n i s t e r announced 11 local authority areas – including North and South Lanarkshire – would temporarily move from level three to level four from Friday in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus before Christmas.
Addressing MSPS at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said: “In all of these areas there are grounds for continued and significant concern.
“Infection rates have stabilised or even slightly fallen as a result of level three measures.
“However – and this is the key point of concern – the infection rate in all of these areas remains stubbornly and worryingly high.
“At this level we simply do not have the assurance we need that hospital and ICU services will be able to cope as we go deeper into the winter.
“Pressure on hospital in these areas and on those who work in them is already severe and with the additional pressure that the coming weeks may bring, it could easily become intolerable.
“Further, at these levels, we would not have the flexibility we need to ease restrictions over Christmas.
“That is why, albeit very reluctantly, we have taken the decision to put these areas into level four for a limited period.”
New weekly coronavirus cases fell for the third consecutive week ahead of Lanarkshire’s level four restrictions.
Last week there were 1,521 new Covid- 19 cases in the region – the lowest weekly tally since the end of September.
However, the “stubbornly high prevalence” of the virus in the region was cause for concern, the First Minister said.
NHS Lanarkshire this week also confirmed the number of Covid cases being treated in our hospitals has increased since last month.
The health board recently appealed to the public for their help in reducing coronavirus rates in wards, as the number was higher than at the peak of the pandemic’s first wave.
Now, as Lanarkshire enters tougher lockdown restrictions, we can reveal that the total number of confirmed Covid cases in hospitals on Monday, November 16, stood at 259 – an increase of 39 since October 21.
The total number of suspected Covid cases in hospital has, however, decreased to 39 – compared to 44 on October 21. That was when NHS Lanarkshire reported hospitals had hit 90 per cent capacity and were treating 220 patients with confirmed Covid- 19 and a further 44 with suspected Covid-19.
Heather Knox (right), NHS Lanarkshire chief executive, said: “I would like to remind the public that, at present, Covid-19 continues to cause severe pressure on our healthcare resources in Lanarkshire.
“While numbers in our hospitals have stabilised, we are
still treating more patients in our hospitals than at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
“To protect our loved ones, our staff and our hospitals, it is vitally important that everyone takes personal responsibility and follows Scottish Government guidance, taking into account the consequences of their actions on their families, community, local business and people’s livelihoods.
“Ever yone should take care to wear a face covering where appropriate.
“We should avoid crowded places and clean our hands regularly. We should also keep a two metre distance from others and self- isolate and book a test if we show symptoms.”
To protect our loved ones, it is vitally important that everyone takes personal responsibility Heather Knox