Scotland could go own way on lockdown rules
●Sturgeon ‘will not hesitate’ to diverge from UK view if necessary
Scotland “will not hesitate” to diverge from UK policy on lifting the coronavirus lockdown if scientific evidence suggests it could save more lives, Nicola Sturgeon has said as it was confirmed that restrictions would continue beyond this week.
Downing Street said the Scottish Government had the power to take its own approach on social distancing and movement restrictions, with growing signs that the spread of the illness has reached its peak.
Latest figures for the outbreak showed there were 155 confirmed new cases recorded in Scotland, bringing the total to 6,067, with the hospital death toll in rising by nine to 575 – although the true figure is expected to be higher due to reporting delays over the weekend.
A total of 1,797 people are in hospital across Scotland having tested positive for coronavirus, an increase of 42, although the number in intensive care fell by ten to 211.
Across the UK, the number of deaths rose by 717 to 11,329. There were 4,342 confirmed new cases, a figure that has remained broadly stable since the start of April.
Minister sin london and edinburgh will be briefed by experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies this week, but Foreign Minister
Dominic Raab said they “don’t expect to make any changes to social distancing measures in place”.
Under emergency coronavirus legislation, a review of the lockdown must take place by Thursday.
There has been speculation that different parts of the UK could be released from lockdown at different times, depending on their demography and the state of the out- break in the local area.
With lower population density and a lower death rate per head of population than the UK as a whole, the Scottish Government could decide to ease restrictions faster than the government in London – although the devolved administrations have so far agreed to follow a joint approach on social distancing, with only small deviations in advice to the public.
At a press briefing in Edin- burgh, Ms Sturgeon said: “Will we do this at the same time in Scotland as in the rest of the UK? That will depend on what the evidence tells us. This is not some point of constitutional ideology.
“Ideally, for the reason of simplicity of messaging to people, the more consistency across the UK in what we are doing, the better.
“But if the evidence tells us we need to do something different in Scotland to the rest of the UK, or do it on a different timescale, we will not hesitate to do that.”
She added: “In terms of Scotland’s approach, all along our key priority has been to save lives. The focus is to reduce the number of people who lose their lives.
“In terms of an exit strategy, we need to understand a bit more than we do right now on the impact these measures have had – collectively and individually.
“We need to understand what the impact would be if we release those measures. We have to make sure we have the ability to control this virus.
“The virus will not have gone away. The danger is when we lift restrictions it begins to increase again.
“There is an importance at that point to ensure testing, tracing, and isolating is part of that approach. We need to make sure we fully understand the evidence before we start to release these measures.”
Speaking at the daily press briefing from Downing Street, Mr Raab said it was “far too early” to talk about relaxing Covid-19 lockdown measures despite “positive signs” from official data.
Speaking at yesterday’s Downing Street press conference, Mr Raab said figures indicated the UK was “starting to win this struggle” against the virus but warned it was “still not past the peak”.
He praised the British public for staying at home during the Easter weekend, adding: “Our plan is working.
“Please stick with it and we’ll get through this crisis together.”
The briefing came as the UK and Scottish governments announced more funding to help public services and charities during the pandemic.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak increased the coronavirus emergency response fund on Monday, with an additional £600 million going to the Scottish Government. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said the UK Government was willing to help services like the NHS deal with “huge challenges”.
He said: “We have been clear that we will do whatever it takes to help all corners of the UK through this crisis and this additional £600m will go a long way in helping public services in Scotland respond to the huge challenge they are facing.”
Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said: “This additional funding is welcome and must be used by the Scottish Government to support our vital public services.
“The health service is under intense pressure and our NHS needs to be fully resourced, especially with PPE.”