SUMMER HOLIDAYS BACK ON!

++ Self-catering can open on July 3rd ++ Outdoor pubs and restaurants days later ++ Shopping and hairdressers by 15th ++

FAMILIES have been given the green light to book summer holidays after Nicola Sturgeon fast-tracked Scotland’s path out of lockdown.

In a major boost to the spirits of the nation after three long months of restrictions, the First Minister announced that travel curbs will be lifted from the end of next week.

Other welcome measures included dates for reopening pubs and restaurants outdoors, for hairdressers to restart, and more face-to-face time with family and friends. Scots will no longer be limited to staying within five miles of home for leisure activities from July 3.

From that time they will also be able to stay in holiday homes or selfcatering holiday lets.

The wider tourism sector – including hotels, bed and breakfasts and campsites – will be able to restart

from July 15. With only days until the traditional family holiday season begins, Scots will be able to travel across the country or to other parts of the UK for staycations from the end of next week.

It will even be possible to fly out to foreign holiday destinations, although options are still severely limited and travellers will face the prospect of two weeks in quarantine on their return.

The starting gun for the summer holiday season was fired as Miss Sturgeon unveiled a series of fast-tracked sections of her route map out of lockdown. The key announcements included:

■ In the hard-hit hospitality sector, beer gardens and outdoor dining will now be permitted from July 6;

■ Bars, restaurants and other indoor hospitality will resume from July 15;

■ Hairdressers, barbers, cinemas, museums, galleries, monuments and libraries will be able to reopen from July 15;

■ From July 10, outdoor meetings can go ahead with other multiple households – making family reunions, birthday parties and barbecues possible;

■ Indoor meetings between households will be allowed from July 10 – although this will be restricted to a maximum of two other households at any one time;

■ Non-essential offices and call centres can welcome back workers some time after the next review on July 9, although the Scottish Government says it is unlikely it will be before July 23.

Miss Sturgeon said the latest figures showed ‘real and sustained progress’ in the battle against coronavirus.

In the week to Sunday, Covid-19 deaths fell for an eighth consecutive week, to 49. This took the total death toll since the beginning of the outbreak to 4,119. The estimated total of people infected with the virus is also expected to fall to around 2,000 when official figures are published tomorrow, down from 2,900 last week.

Miss Sturgeon said the ‘sacrifices’ people have made have helped to suppress the virus and allow more clarity on ‘our path out of lockdown’.

But she insisted she will continue to take a ‘careful’ approach, with the pace ‘slightly slower than England’.

She said: ‘The virus has not and it will not go away of its own accord. It will pose a real and significant threat for some time to come. So we must not be complacent.

‘We must keep working to drive it down further, towards the point of elimination,

‘Thousands of jobs are on the line’

because that then gives us the best chance of keeping it under control through testing, surveillance, contact tracing and the application of targeted suppression measures when necessary.’

She added: ‘The choices we have made to date as individuals and collectively as a society have brought us this far – albeit with a lot of sorrow along the way.

‘But, arguably, the choices we make in the coming weeks will be even more important, as we learn to work, socialise and live alongside each other again in a way that keeps the virus under control.’

Her new route map from lockdown was welcomed by the tourism industry, which has been in hibernation since March. Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: ‘This is the announcement Scotland’s tourism industry has been so eager to hear and will offer huge comfort to thousands of businesses – that there is a summer season ahead.

He added: ‘This unlocks major components of our tourism sector and offers Scots the opportunity to plan summer experiences closer to home and boost our local economies.’

However, some concerns were raised yesterday that the reopening of the tourism sector has come too late.

Boris Johnson has already confirmed the entire hospitality sector in England, including bars, restaurants and hotels, can reopen from July 4 – meaning many Scots may travel south of the Border for a staycation, rather than waiting for accommodation to open here.

There were astonishing scenes south of the Border yesterday as thousands of people packed beaches on the hottest day of the year in total disregard to the threat of coronavirus. Temperatures peaked at 32.6C (90.7F) at Heathrow, but that figure is set to go even higher today.

Last night, Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw warned that reopening Scotland’s tourism sector from July 15 is ‘too little, too late’.

He said: ‘The only certainty Nicola Sturgeon delivered today was that our vital tourism and hospitality sector is being hit with a two-week lag.

‘That will cost millions at a time when thousands of jobs are already on the line. People who would have holidayed in Scotland in that fortnight will instead be taking their business elsewhere.

‘Every day counts for the Scottish hospitality trade at this time of year – and the SNP’s inflexible approach isn’t helping them.’

AFTER months of being confined largely to our own homes, finally we are beginning to emerge from the gruelling stasis of lockdown.

Within days, we will get our lives and some fundamental freedoms back, as the country stirs from what Boris Johnson called ‘the long hibernation’.

For the first time since the spring, next month you will be able to have a haircut and go to the pub. You will be able to eat in a restaurant again, hold a wedding outdoors, or go to the pictures.

True, Nicola Sturgeon has moved at a slower pace than Mr Johnson – sometimes it seems more for political than entirely scientific reasons.

And the First Minister still hasn’t shifted on the crucial question of the two-metre rule which, while it remains unchanged, will attach lead weights to any attempt at economic recovery.

We are promised that next week the results of a review on social distancing are due, and can only hope Miss Sturgeon introduces an immediate relaxation.

The UK Government is also creating a system of ‘air bridges’, allowing travellers to and from ‘safe’ countries to avoid its ludicrous quarantine rules, giving a shot in the arm to the travel industry.

Although Covid is by no means vanquished, infection rates are so low that Scotland can safely take cautious steps on the road back to normality. And not a moment too soon.

The Mail has been urging Miss Sturgeon to sound this wake-up call for some time.

While 11million people in the UK have enjoyed an extended holiday on the State, our economy has been crumbling.

National debt is almost £2trillion, Britain would have run out of money in March if the Bank of England hadn’t stumped up £200billion in quantitative easing and the end of the furlough scheme in October is expected to herald a jobs apocalypse.

There are still health risks from coronavirus. But balanced against the spectre of three or four million unemployed and a generation of children blighted by missing even more schooling, they are relatively small.

As in other countries, there will probably be localised outbreaks, needing targeted solutions. But we know what to expect now and can cope (despite the disappointing failure of the NHS tracing app).

At the beginning of this crisis, the primary objective was to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. That has been achieved, thanks to the sterling efforts of medical staff and an enormous collective sacrifice by the public.

There have been mistakes aplenty, notably the shameful neglect of care homes. But this is an unprecedented crisis in which there are no easy decisions and no quick solutions. There may be arguments over when lockdown should have started, but few would say it was wrong or that it wasn’t worth the trouble.

However, attention must now turn to economic recovery. No one should be under any illusion about the mountain we have to climb – but there are glimmers of hope.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index, a key measure of economic activity, this week showed a record monthly rise. Admittedly, it was from a low base, but analysts suggest that with the right conditions, we could return to growth by the end of the year.

This depends partly on ministers being creative over tax breaks for business, job retention schemes, apprenticeships and training. But the public must also play their part by working and spending again.

And Miss Sturgeon must ensure that any tax reduction by the UK Government is replicated here.

If we don’t get back to supporting our pubs, restaurants and high street stores, many will simply disappear. That would punch a gaping hole in our national culture which may never be filled. The task of rebuilding the economy starts now – and it is crucial that Miss Sturgeon gets Scotland back to work without further delay.