Councils have heard no plan to shift tiers

Fife Council leaders said there have been no discussions with the Scottish Government about raising the kingdom’s level of Covid restrictions.

Fears were expressed at the weekend that Fife could be placed under Tier 3 restrictions amid a spike in cases.

But SNP leader David Alexander and L abour leader David Ross said they had not been told what t o d ay ’ s announcement would be.

Mr Alexander said yesterday: “There have been no discussions but I think we may get a phone call tomorrow.”

Mr Ross said he would expect to be told in advance if the tier level was to be raised.

“We do get information and we have regular meetings with the director of public health,” he said.

“If there is any change proposed, we would expect to have a discussion with one of the cabinet secretaries.

“We had a discussion last week with (local government secre tar y) Aileen Campbell.”

Mr Ross said moving into Tier 3 would have a concerning impact on businesses but added: “As everybody can see from the figures, Fife is continuing to go up in terms of rate of infection. I would expect the public health advice to take account of that.”

Tayside’s Tier 2 areas do not expect a shift to a harsher regime.

The leader of Perth and Kinross Council has said there is no indication that the region will be moved up to Tier 3, despite a worrying increase in infection rates.

Murray Lyle said: “I have not had any information today that suggests we will be going up a level, so my assumption is that we are staying at Tier 2.

“But I will have to wait and see... like everyone else.”

Angus Council leader David Fairweather said no discussions have been held with the Scottish Government recently and he expects the area to remain in Tier 2 restrictions.

Nicola Sturgeon said it is “highly unlikely” coronavirus restrictions will be significantly eased when she reviews the tiers today. As such, Dundee is expected to remain at Tier 3.

The first minister will announce the results of a review of the new five-tier system of measures to the Scottish Parliament after a meeting of her Cabinet.

Any changes would be due to take effect from Friday.

Speaking during the Scottish Government ’s briefing in Edinburgh yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said it is “highly unlikely that we will see any significant easing of restrictions”.

One death and 912 positive tests have been recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 3,040.