Back to lockdown as ‘super Covid’ rate rocketing
Residents across Stirling have been ordered to stay at home as part of tough new lockdown measures to curb the spread of ‘supercovid’.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed yesterday that the new mutant strain of the virus now accounts for 50 percent of new cases.
There were 2,529 postive cases reported yesterday.
Eleven deaths have also been confirmed in the past 24 hours from those with a positive test, with a further 93 people in intensive care.
In the face of spiralling numbers, the Scottish Parliament was recalled on Monday for an urgent update.
Nicola Sturgeon – who said she is more worried about the pandemic now than she was during the Spring peak – added that we are in a “race” with the fast-spreading Covid variant to vaccinate as many people as possible.
In a bid to slow the rate of infection, she said schools and nurseries will now be closed until February 1 – at least.
It has now become a legal requirement for people to stay at home, other than for specific reasons including caring responsibilites, essential shopping, exercise or as part of an extended household.
Employers are also being urged to ensure that staff can work from home as much as possible, with travelling for work only being permitted if that work cannot be carried out from home.
Places of worship will also close, with numbers at funerals restricted to 20 and weddings and civil partnerships reduced to just five people.
“A full reopening of all schools and nurseries this month is not consistent with a safety first approach, which is why most pupils will be learning remotely during January.
“As tough as this is, I urge people to stick with it. We are faced with a new challenge in the form of a mutated variant of this virus. However, we’ve already shown ourselves what can be achieved by keeping our distance and keeping each other safe.”
MP Alyn Smith added: “The recent daily figures coming out following the recent spread of the new variant of Covid are startling and it is clear that there is no option but to take action to keep people safe and to prevent our NHS from being overrun.
“As the First Minister pointed out, we are in a race with this virus; we are now armed with two vaccines which are being rolled out to the population, but the virus has just gotten faster at spreading itself amongst people.”