Sturgeon: Cut contacts now to stay safe at Christmas
●Caution urged ahead of gatherings ●Tier three ‘right for Edinburgh’ ●New Covid strain in England
Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots to “cut down on unnecessary contacts” and not hold office parties if they plan to meet up with relatives over the festive period.
The First Minister said mixing with other household sat Christmas-as people can do to a limited extent over the five-day period when rules are relaxed-is“not riskfree” and that people should consider postponing their celebrations until well into next year.
Conceding that Christmas could be the most difficult time for S cots after ten months of living with restrictions, Ms Sturgeon said she is“scun ne red” with the virus but that it is in everyone’ s interests for people to “stick with it” and follow the rules.
In other developments yesterday:
•Vaccines were administered to the first care home residents in Scotland;
• Ms Sturgeon defended her decisi onto keep Edinburgh in Level Three restrictions, pointing to case numbers“edging up” and indicating there will be no change announced for the city today;
•It emerged that a new variant of the virus is spreading rapidly through southern England, with London and parts of the commuter belt placed under tougher restrictions in response to soaring cases.
•The First Minister rejected complaints she should be replaced by
a p u b l i c o f f i c i a l a t t h e t e l e v i s e d d a i l y b r i e f - i n g s i n t h e r u n - u p t o t h e Holyrood elections in May.
At yesterday Scottish Government coronavirus briefing, Ms Sturgeon announced no Covid deaths had been recorded in Scotland in the previous 24 hours but there were 734 new cases.
But she warned death figures tend to be "artificially low" on Mondays as many registry offices are closed at the weekend.
And not holding office Christmas parties in person is among the precautions needed to help tackle the spread, she said.
"If you can't work from home and you're sharing a workplace with colleagues just now I understand why it might be tempting to have some sort of celebration or social gathering at work because this obviously has been a really difficult time for everyone,” Ms Sturgeon said.
"But office parties, especially if they involve alcohol, present a real risk of transmission.
"People are less likely to stick to physical distancing requireme n t s t h a n wh e n t h e y a r e working and more likely to pass around food or drinks without perhaps washing their hands as carefully as they should.
"S o I ' m a s k i n g e ve r yb o dy please don't take these risks. By far the best way of marking Christmas with your colleagues this year is virtually."
She added: "It is not as much fun, I appreciate that, but it is much, much safer.
"And if you can't do that then perhaps think about postponing your Christmas celebration into next year, perhaps the spring or the summer of next year when hopefully we will be starting to see some greater normality return to our lives."
The First Minister said people planning to meet with others indoors during the temporary Christmas relaxation should now start cutting unnecessary contacts.
S h e s t r e s s e d n o t mee t i n g indoors is the safest option.
"I want to remind ever yone once again that just because we can visit people indoors over Christmas on a limited basis does not mean that we have to."
S h e c o n c e d e d C h r i s t m a s could be one of the hardest periods in the coronavirus crisis for many.
"We have been living with this for ten months, it is wearisome, it is difficult, it is causing a lot of people a lot of mental stress and worry and anxiety.
"However difficult it has been over the past ten months, I think for a lot of people the next couple of weeks will be the most difficult period yet because we are going into a period when we normally all of us like to spend time with loved ones, including loved ones we might not see regularly for the rest of the year.
"It is tough. I think it is understandable people are thoroughly scunnered and fed up with it."
She added: "If it makes anybody feel any better, which I don't expect it will, I feel utterly scunnered and fed up as well.
"But we are still in the grip of this virus. So tough though it is, it is in the interests of all of us and those we love to stick with it."
Ms Sturgeon advised those people who will be meeting other households over Christmas that they should "start thinking about reducing unnecessar y contact" with others in the runup to the rules being eased on December 23.
She said this is "particularly the case" for those planning to meet elderly relatives over Christmas.
"This year I think it is the case that the best Christmas gift we can give family and friends is as far as possible to keep our distance and keep them safe," the First Minister said.
Meanwhile researchers today warn that a slow rollout of the vaccine could mean economic growth in Scotland will not return to pre-pandemic levels for almost three years.
The Fraser of Allander Institute has set out three scenarios in its latest Economic Commentary report.
Its central scenario predicts normalit y will return to the economy by August 2022, while the most optimistic prediction suggests February 2022.
With a coronavirus vaccine now being rolled out, it said there is "a greater likelihood of an optimistic scenario" than in previous reports.
But it said a pessimistic scenario involving business closures, rising unemployment and a slow rollout of the vaccine would result in the Scottish economy not reaching prepandemic levels until September 2023.
The think tank's report said unemployment will rise to 7.5 per cent by the second quarter of next year as the furlough scheme is rolled back - around double the normal rate in recent times.
"With unemployment soon to rise and a renewed squeeze on wages across the public and private sector, it will feel like Scotland is in a recession for some time yet," it said.
The institute said the S cottish budget - to be delivered on 28 January - will be set against a background of significant uncertainty, intergovernmental tensions that could be exacerbated by a no-deal Brexit and the Holyrood election in May.
It said the Scottish Government has limited scope to adapt its fiscal plans to the pandemic.
"There is a case for saying that current arrangements are not problematic - the Scottish Government has a good idea about what its likely minimum funding envelope is and can have c o n f i d e n c e t h a t a d d i t i o n a l funding will flow its way given that the UK Government is very open to the idea of allocating further funding if the recovery turns out to be more protracted," it said.
"But the dependence of the Scottish budget on policy choices taken in England will continue to be a source of tension, particularly when the economic and health impacts of the pandemic remain high.
"There is a strong case for discussing some combination of: greater intergovernmental coordination and communication around budgeting, further commitments to funding certainty by the UK Government and additional fiscal flexibilities for the Scottish budget."