No dates to be set for Scotland’s route out of lockdown, says First Minister
with the approach taken in England. Divergence between Scotland and England is already apparent, as primary school children north of the Border returned to classes yesterday morning, Ms Sturgeon said.
In England, however, schools are not set to reopen until the second week of March.
Ms Sturgeon, who cut short a meeting with other four nations leaders earlier yesterday to attend the briefing, said: “I would think that while our plans out of lockdown will not be identical...i think there will be broad similarities.
“It seems that [the UK Government] will prioritise children and education and getting life back to normal for young people before doing other things,” she said, “and so I think the principles will be the same.
“We're living through the same pandemic.”
She added: “Clearly we will make our own judgments about the particular order and the particular timing of [lifting restrictions] because the data is not identical in each of the four nations.”
Ms Sturgeon also argued that the Scottish Government’s routemap out of lockdown must be “driven by data” more than “driven by dates”.
The easing of lockdown is expected to set out only an indicative order of priority and proposed phases with periods of three weeks between them.
The opening of schools will be first, followed by sports activities for young people and limited social interaction for adults.
The Scottish Government said it will gradually ease existing level four restrictions and then, when it is safe to do so, return to more geographically variable levels when all or parts of the country may move to lower levels with more of the economy opening up.
At Westminster, Mr Johnson announced pubs can reopen outdoors and households can mix inside in England from April.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson explained the road out of lockdown would “guide us cautiously, but irreversibly towards reclaiming our freedoms”.
He said: “The threat remains substantial with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April.
“But we are able to take these steps because of the resolve of the British people and the extraordinary success of our NHS in vaccinating more than 17.5 million people across the UK.
"So, as the modelling released by Sage today shows, we cannot escape the fact that lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and sadly more deaths.
“And this would happen whenever lockdown is lifted – whether now or in six or nine months – because there will always be some vulnerable people who are not protected by the vaccines.
“There is therefore no credible route to a zero-covid Britain, or indeed, a zero-covid world and we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental wellbeing and the life chances of our children.”
The steps will have at least five weeks in-between each other to allow the UK Government and scientists to assess the data.
Mr Johnson warned rushing to unlock could see restrictions return.
He explained: “The chief medical officer is clear that moving any faster would mean acting before we know the impact of each step, which would increase the risk of us having to reverse course and reimpose restrictions. I won’t take that risk.
“Step one will happen from March 8, by which time those in the top four priority groups will be benefiting from the increasing protection they receive from their first dose of the vaccine.”
Under step one, all children will return to school on March 8, with wrap around childcare and after school sports clubs also allowed to return.
The same date will also see the public allowed to meet one other person on a recreational basisforactivitiessuchasacoffee or picnic, with it previously only allowed for exercise. Care home residents will also be allowed one regular named visitor. On March 29, the rule of six returns, with up to two households allowed to mix. Meetings in private gardens will also return, as well outdoor organised sport such as tennis, football and golf. The “stay at home” order will then lift and change to advice to stay local.
Mr Johnson said step two would begin “at least five weeks” after the first phase and no earlier than April 12, with an announcement at least seven days in advance.
He said: “If analysis of the latest data against the four tests requires a delay, then this and subsequent steps will also be delayed to maintain the fiveweek gap.” The step would see the return of non-essential retail, personal care premises, nail salons libraries and museums.
Pubs will finally return, as part of the reopening of outdoor attractions such as zoos, hospitality, theme parks and outdoor swimming. This will no longer have the requirement of the last relaxation to have food with alcohol, and curfews will also be scrapped.
Step three begins no earlier than April 17, and sees indoor mixing allowed, with gatherings allowed of up to 30 people. Mr Johnson explained the third review would “consider the potential role of Covid status certification in helping venues to open safely”.
Pubs would go back to the rule of six indoors, but restrictions would be removed outside. Step four begins no earlier than June 21 and the international travel ban will remain until May 7 at earliest.
Sturgeon refuses to commit to date for full school return
Nicola Sturgeon has refused to commit to the latest possible date that all children could return to school, saying she hoped youngsters would be back in the classroom before the summer.
The First Minister would not be drawn on whether teenagers could guarantee they will be back at school this academic year, but reiterated that re-starting schools in full was the government's priority.
As youngsters in P1 to P3 – and a limited number of high school students taking practical subjects – returned to the classroom on Monday with no return date set for the remainder of Scotland’s school population, Ms Sturgeon said: "I want to get children back to school before the summer, but I can’t, I would not be being fair to anybody if I said ‘the latest date is this’ because I don’t
know that right now. What I do know is that getting children back to education is a top priority.”
Ms Sturgeon said she feared coronavirus transmission could “go through the roof ” if all school children were allowed back into the classroom at the same time.
The First Minister spoke out as Westminster indicated all youngsters in England could go back to face-to-face learning from March 8. On March 2, the Scottish Government is due to set out what the next phase of school return will be, but has said it will not be before March 15.
She said she had seen the impact of school closures on her own teenage niece and nephew.
"I’ve got a niece and nephew of my own and I see, when I speak to them, the impact it’s having, being away, not just from school and education, but from friends,” she said.
Asked why the Scottish government had not taken the same approach as Boris Johnson’s UK administration, Ms Sturgeon said: “If we were to do that right now we would send transmission through the roof again very quickly.”
The Scottish government has already warned parents whose children are returning to school not to meet up with friends at the school gate or see the move as a chance for them to go back into the office.
The First Minister said: “I want every child back to school right now. But I think that is the most sensible and sustainable way of doing this, in a way that is going to stick.
"That, after a year of this misery, that is really the important thing, getting us out of this lockdown in a way that sticks.”
She added ministers would need to assess the impact of the limited return before hopefully allowing more children to return “later in March”.
Chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith said while he was “absolutely delighted” some children had been able to go back to school, he was also a “a little bit uneasy about it”.
He said: “Over the next three weeks we will be tracking very, very carefully what happens with transmission.
“If everybody plays their part and if everybody makes sure they are very cautious in terms of limiting the ability of this virus to transmit between people, I am fairly confident we will get to a position in three or four weeks’ time where we can start to consider the next stages.”