Sturgeon’s new ‘common sense’ approach to lockdown exit
SCOTS will be allowed to use their own judgment when deciding how far they travel to visit friends and family as lockdown rules are relaxed.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday pledged to introduce a ‘more flexible’ approach in Scotland in the weeks and months ahead.
From the end of next week, people will be allowed to meet with members of another household outdoors in gardens or public parks.
But the First Minister was accused of causing ‘widespread confusion’ after she yesterday backtracked from a key element of her route map out of lockdown which had suggested people must not travel more than five miles from their homes for ‘leisure’ reasons.
Instead, she said this was only guidat ance – and people should use their own ‘good judgment’.
Scotland’s Chief Constable also said motorists will not be quizzed by officers and promised ‘greater freedoms and greater liberties’ as lockdown restrictions are eased from next Thursday.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘We are asking you to use judgment. And increasingly, as we come out of lockdown, I’m going to be relying more and more on you to exercise the good judgment that I know you will.’
The blueprint for exiting lockdown, published on Thursday by the Scottish Government, said that outdoor meetings with members of another household in outdoor spaces can take place in the first phase of easing restrictions, scheduled to come into force on May 28.
But it also restricted leisure travel to a maximum of five miles in the first phase, then ‘local area only’ in the second phase – meaning many families would not be able to reunite.
Yesterday, Miss Sturgeon said people who need to travel a long distance to visit relatives may be more likely to need to go into their houses to use the bathroom, which would risk leaving the virus on surfaces.
‘That is a risk we don’t want you to take,’ she said. ‘So please use your judgment and have uppermost in your mind the need to protect those you care about – even if that might mean staying apart from them for just a little a bit longer.’
The route map out of lockdown sets out that leisure travel beyond the local area is only possible in phase three, which will be July 9 the earliest but could be much later.
Miss Sturgeon said she would set out more details to give ‘a sense of parameter’ to people before entering the first phase.
She added: ‘But we can’t legislate for every single individual circumstance.
‘So I am not standing here saying we are going to put a distance limit on how far you can travel to see your elderly parents in their own garden. But we will have to ask you to exercise judgment.
‘If your parents live so far away that you can’t get there and back in one day, or that it is going to be really difficult for them not to go into the house for the reasons I’ve already spoken about, then yes, maybe you do have to wait for another phase.
‘But if your parents live a bit closer – not within five miles but you can get there and back in one day and can make other arrangements for other requirements – then that is different.
‘This is much harder for people because the lines might not be so firmly drawn. But one thing I’ve learned over the past few weeks is that people are capable of exercising judgment and good sense, and also acting responsibly.’
Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: ‘As we progress through these phases, inevitably we will be moving from explaining, encouraging and, if necessary, enforcing, restrictions to a greater emphasis on guidance and a greater emphasis on advice.
‘But in truth this has been our approach throughout the emergency: to rely on common sense and personal responsibility of the people of Scotland to do the right thing, protect the NHS and to save lives – not to avoid the current justice sanction but to do that because it is the right thing to do.’ Mr Livingstone said there would be ‘a transition to greater freedoms and greater liberties’.
He added: ‘In terms of stopping cars and asking people where they are going as we move out of different phases, the short answer is no. I see it as very similar to the suggestion that we put roadblocks on the Scottish/English Border: I think it would be disproportionate, I think it would cause greater harm to the relationship between police and the public, and I think it would be excessively intrusive.’
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Annie Wells said: ‘Considering the criticism the SNP made of the UK Government’s exit plan, and the fact they had more
‘Widespread confusion’
‘Excessively intrusive’
time to think about it, there’s really no excuse for causing this level of confusion.
‘People are desperate to get out and see their loved ones.
‘This isn’t just out of a whim or convenience – it’s to benefit their own physical and mental health.
‘Nicola Sturgeon needs to nail this down as a matter of urgency or risk widespread confusion when these restrictions are eventually lifted.’
Miss Sturgeon said she did not accept there had been any confusion. She said five miles of travel ‘is not a strict limit’ but is there to give people guidance.
She added: ‘I’ve always believed if I treat you the public as the grown-ups that you are, furnish you with the information about why we’re doing certain things and not doing certain things, then you have the good judgment and ability to do the right thing.’
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