WARNING AFTER SHARP SPIKE IN VIRUS CASES
Indoor gatherings facing ban as infections hit three-month high
INDOOR gatherings could be banned after Scotland’s biggest daily rise in Covid-19 cases in more than three months, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.
the First Minister has threatened to clamp down amid fears some people are guilty of ‘really dangerous’ complacency by flouting strict rules on meetings.
she said she is increasingly anxious about the country’s ‘fragile position’ after 160 people tested positive for the virus in 24 hours.
It could be assumed the surge would lead to ‘serious illness or death’, Miss sturgeon said.
at her daily coronavirus briefing yesterday, Miss sturgeon said that of the new cases, 22 were linked to a cluster in ayrshire and arran, which appeared to have come from ‘indoor gatherings’ the weekend before last.
another cluster in Hawick, Roxburghshire, has risen to 15 people, while there are now 188 cases linked to the 2 sisters food processing factory in Coupar angus, Perthshire.
a further 69 cases were found in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, but Miss sturgeon said that this could be the result of a number of smaller clusters.
at present, indoor gatherings are limited to eight people from three households,
including the host. However, Miss Sturgeon said there is evidence that this rule has been flouted and stressed the importance of limiting indoor meetings.
Asked if she is considering moves to stop indoor visits for families and friends, she said: ‘Yes, there is a risk of that. I fervently hope we can avoid that but I can’t rule out that possibility.’
Despite saying the high number of positive cases was partly due to an increase in testing, she admitted being more anxious than she had been in recent months.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘I think that complacency is really dangerous.’
After the latest daily increase – the biggest since May 16 – she said: ‘We, in truth, don’t know yet if this rise in cases will or will not lead to an increase in serious illness or death.
‘I think we should assume it will to some extent.’
But she stressed that ‘formal restriccurrent tions’ could be imposed if people fail to take the current threat seriously.
She also urged Scots to appeal to family and friends to ‘change their ways’ if they have been flouting guidance.
On Friday, Police Scotland was handed new powers under emergency Covid-19 legislation which allows officers to enter properties and break up large parties and social gatherings.
The drastic move was made amid growing concerns over indoor meetings, which Miss Sturgeon fears are likely to become more common during the winter months.
She has warned that large gatherings ‘pose a significant transmission risk’.
At the end of her briefing, Miss Sturgeon said there had been ‘moments of greater hope and optimism’ in recent weeks after ‘some really dark moments along the way since the start of March’.
But she warned progressing out of lockdown could be stalled unless Scots adhere to restrictions. Miss Sturgeon added: ‘I have always tried to be frank with you about my assessments and feelings about the situation that we are in.
‘That is why I feel able to say to you today – and feel that it is important I say to you – that I feel a greater sense of anxiety today that I have done at any time probably for the last couple of months. We are in a fragile position. We have substantially lifted the lockdown restrictions but in doing so we have allowed this virus opportunities to spread.
‘I just ask everybody to think very carefully about how you are living your lives at the moment.’
She said ‘particularly close attention’ was being paid to the surge of cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Little detail on where the cases were, or how they had spread, was given.
But Miss Sturgeon said the latest information ‘seems to reflect a number of small clusters, rather than one or two more significant outbreaks’.
She said ministers would consider whether targeted action was needed – such as a local lockdown, as was imposed in Aberdeen after a surge of infections linked to pubs in the city.
The latest increase in Covid19 cases comes amid a further easing of lockdown restrictions – with gyms and swimming pools reopening in Scotland.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘As we release ourselves from lockdown, we release the virus from lockdown too.
‘The figures demonstrate very clearly that this virus is still present across the country.
‘The clusters we have seen show it will spread very rapidly if it gets the chance, and the admissions to intensive care last week remind us that the virus is still immensely dangerous for some people.’
But she reiterated her pledge to keep schools open – insisting Scots ‘mustn’t lose sight of how important it is’ that youngsters can return to the classroom.
She warned the country’s economic recovery and getting a ‘bit more normality in our lives’ relies on suppressing the virus.
‘Sticking to the restrictions still in place – particularly on indoor activity – is absolutely essential, and I cannot stress that enough,’ she said.
‘That is a reminder of why it is so important to limit the number of people meeting indoors.
‘Our advice is that no more than eight people from a maximum of three households should be meeting indoors.
‘The virus can spread easily across multiple households if larger gatherings are taking place.’
‘Greater sense of anxiety’
THE path out of lockdown was always going to be complex, with many potential obstacles. Now we face the threat of the removal of hard-won freedoms we have only just regained.
The First Minister spoke of her ‘anxiety’ yesterday, after the number of coronavirus diagnoses reached a three-month high, with 160 new cases in only 24 hours.
That is the highest total since May 16 and an increase on the figure of 123 announced on Sunday, though no deaths have been recorded for almost a week.
Nicola Sturgeon’s warning that indoor gatherings are stoking coronavirus clusters is indeed concerning. It points to a failure of compliance among a small minority, which could undo the great advances made against Covid-19 in recent months.
Ministers also warn that Freshers’ Week – as students arrive at university for the new academic year – could lead to another jump in transmission rates. Traditionally, it’s a time of ‘large-scale socialisation’, as John Swinney said yesterday – precisely the kind of conditions which can spread the virus.
Miss Sturgeon underlined our ‘fragile’ position in her downbeat assessment, pointing out that easing lockdown has left us vulnerable to a resurgence of Covid-19.
But there’s a balance to be struck between the need for continuing caution and the importance of re-starting the economy.
Can we live indefinitely under the shadow of a virus that is being effectively contained, despite the recent spike in numbers?
The prospect of yet more lockdowns, and the reinstitution of tough restrictions on our lives, is debilitating.
Ministers have an unenviable task but they are in danger of creating a climate of fear that could become counterproductive.
Reopening schools last month has not led to the virus rampaging out of control. That should provide reassurance that coexistence with this appalling illness is possible, if it is carefully managed.
Yet city centre offices are deemed out of bounds for the majority of their staff, placing a stranglehold on economic recovery. They cannot all be opened at once, readmitting every employee. But as long as safeguards are in place, it’s hard to understand why they must remain closed.
In their laudable determination to eliminate coronavirus, ministers are causing collateral damage that could take many years to reverse.
Until an effective vaccine can be found, a complete restoration of pre-Covid normality is unattainable. But in the meantime we cannot allow this devastating illness to squeeze the life out of our economy.