Scots urged to snitch on neighbours’ house parties
SCOTLAND’S Chief Constable yesterday asked people to inform on neighbours hosting house gatherings this weekend amid fears wet weather will encourage families to meet indoors.
Iain Livingstone urged Scots to do the “right thing” and contact the police, arguing that house or dinner parties were “particularly dangerous” as coronavirus spreads much more quickly indoors.
Speaking ahead of the second weekend of lockdown being eased in Scotland, he said his officers would initially try to explain to hosts why they should not be holding gatherings, but if this did not work “we will enforce the law because there is high risk”.
His message was echoed by Nicola Sturgeon, who admitted that indoor gatherings would prove a “particular temptation” this weekend, but warned they risked the participants becoming ill or even dying.
The First Minister, said Scots missing their friends or family should not meet them if wet and windy conditions meant they were reluctant to venture outside. Her warning came after thousands of Scots flouted her guidelines when lockdown was eased last weekend, which coincided with some glorious sunny weather.
Ms Sturgeon threatened to put a five-mile travel limit into law after day trippers descended en masse to beauty spots including Loch Lomond and Glencoe, where traffic levels tripled.
Scots are currently permitted to meet one other household, with the total group limited to eight people. However, social distancing must be maintained and gatherings must take place outdoors.
Speaking alongside Ms Sturgeon at her daily media briefing, Mr Livingstone said this weekend’s weather would be poorer than last weekend’s but people must not “hold house parties or gatherings indoors”. He said: “The police service will take very robust action in that regard because we know that that is particularly dangerous in regard to the spread of the virus.”
Appealing to Scots to inform on their neighbours, he said: “If you have concerns this weekend within your own communities, you’ve got concerns there is a house party going on somewhere, I would encourage you to contact the police service because it’s the right thing to do.
“We need to identify house parties as they are occurring. We’ll deal with them in a fair and reasonable manner.”