SCOTS FAMILIES ARE HIT FOR SIX

Lockdown restrictions ramped up ++ New curbs on gatherings ++ Masks must be worn in pubs and restaurants ++ Fresh fears over economy and jobs

SCOTS were slapped with tough new virus restrictions yesterday, banning gatherings of more than six people.

Nicola Sturgeon’s latest measures also reduce the number of households which can meet indoors or outside from three to two, and she warned coronavirus rules would remain for ‘some time yet’.

The current regulations state that no more than eight people from a maximum of three different households can meet indoors, while up to 15 people from five households are permitted to gather outdoors.

But the First Minister rowed back on easing Scotland out of phase three of her lockdown ‘route map’ as she revealed another rise in infection rates across the country.

The mandatory rules limiting gatherings to six people – both indoors and outdoors – apply to those aged over 12 and come into effect from Monday.

Anyone failing to follow the regulations will face on-the-spot fines, starting at £30 and doubling if unpaid within 30 days.

New rules also make it mandatory to wear face coverings in pubs, restaurants and other

hospitality premises when entering, exiting and moving around.

It came as Boris Johnson faced a growing backlash after he ruled that social gatherings of more than six in England would be banned by law.

Tory MPs and business groups accused him of a gross overreaction to the coronavirus threat and disproportionate restrictions on family life.

Miss Sturgeon’s new rules were last night described as ‘turning a dark corner in people’s hopes and expectations’ by a senior opposition politician.

The First Minister also slammed the brakes on plans to relax a series of other restrictions, such as the return of spectators to sports stadiums, and the resumption of theatre and live music events.

In a further economic blow, non-essential offices were still given no return date – despite Miss Sturgeon admitting she is ‘acutely aware’ that the number of people working from home is harming firms that rely on their custom.

She said: ‘The announcements I have made are hard for people to hear. I know that after six hard months we’re still asking the public to make a lot of difficult sacrifices. That is unavoidable, given the nature of the challenge we face.’

A proximity tracing app was also launched to help alert people if they have been in contact with someone who is subsequently found to have coronavirus.

A spokesman for the First Minister said the latest restrictions would be in place ‘for as short a time as reasonably possible’ and they would be reviewed every three weeks. He added phase three of the route map out of lockdown was likely to continue ‘for quite some time to come’. Asked if he could give any guarantee that the rule of six on household gatherings would be removed before Christmas, he said: ‘I can’t give you that guarantee, no.

‘I’m not saying categorically it will still be in place by then but equally I can’t guarantee that it won’t be.’

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: ‘We are turning a dark corner in people’s hopes and expectations. In their minds, we were preparing for recovery and for the elimination of the virus, but now we are being taken backwards.’

In her statement to MSPs, Miss Sturgeon said the pause in the route map and the new restrictions were ‘not welcome’ but Scotland and the rest of the UK were ‘in a precarious position’.

Thanks to the test and protect system Scotland, she said, is in a ‘much better’ position now than in March when lockdown began, with a slower rise in new cases and a lower prevalence rate.

But she added: ‘It is vital to do everything we can to stop cases rising further before winter. That is the reason for the decisions I have outlined today. These steps are necessary to help curb a virus that we know spreads rapidly whenever it gets the chance.’

Comment – Page 16

‘We are being taken backwards’