Scotland may face tougher lockdown

cotland could face an even tougher lockdown, with Nicola Sturgeon considering fresh restr ict ions on con s t ru c t ion , manufacturing and clickand-collect services.

The first minister revealed the S c o tt i s h Government’s anti- Covid measures are being reviewed as the nation recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases.

Giving her regular Covid briefing, Ms S t u r ge o n warned pressure on the NHS is increasing as she reported there had been 78 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll of the second wave.

Under the daily measurement of Covid cases, 2,649 were reported ( 11.3% of those tested), more than the previous high of 2,622 on Hogmanay.

Ms Sturgeon said the mounting number of cases is putting the NHS under “severe and increasing pressure” and signalled further action may have to be taken as she repeated her pleas for people to stay at home and reduce social contact.

“I need to be really blunt about this – for this lockdown to be as effective as we need it to be, we must radically reduce the number of interactions we are h av i n g ,” the first minister said. “If we need to require more nonessential activity to close in order to achieve this, we will have to do that. That’s a matter of ongoing review by the Scottish Government right now.”

When asked what may have to be closed, the first minister mentioned nonessential manufacturing, non-essential construction and click-and-collect services – noting the last two items had been restricted in the Republic of Ireland.

She noted that many businesses had made great e ff o r t s since the last lockdown to make their work safer, but added: “If it takes more tough decisions by me to stand here, or in parliament , and communicate then that’s what I will do, because we see from case numbers, death numbers, the pressure on our health service, we can’ t allow this virus to run away from us.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith warned the pressure was having an impact on NHS staff.

“I have colleagues right across community and hospital-based care that turn up every day, and I know how hard they are working just now and how tired they are,” he said.

“They have had not just a couple of weeks of hard work behind them, but actually this has been going on for months now.

“When I speak to them I recognise their unease and their anxiety at times about what they are faced with ahead, because there is some uncertainty for them when they turn up at work – just how busy they are going to be and just exactly what they are going to be faced with over the day.

“We should never underestimate the impact that has on individuals.”