We ‘clearly can’t stay in lockdown indefinitely’ says chief medical officer
Dr Gregor Smith said that a lot has changed since Scotland exited the lockdown last summer and for that reason it is vital that a cautious and safe approach is taken to easing the restrictions.
Speaking today on Good Morning Scotland, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer said that the roadmap out of lockdown is not looking past April because we now have a new variant “which we know is much more transmittable” than the virus we were dealing with before.
He said: “We don't want to tip that balance in its favour and allow more contact which will increase the rate of transmission.”
For this reason, he said that
while “we clearly can’t stay in lockdown indefinitely”, it is very important that we “plot our way out very cautiously and safely”.
He added that we have got "this wonderfully encouraging news of the vaccine programme" but that the process of easing restrictions is a still "precarious" one.
While the recent dip in vaccine supplies was expected, Dr Smith said that he anticipates the number of vaccines available will begin to rise again over the next couple weeks as the supply pipelines are reestablished.
When asked why all school pupils were not set to return to school, he reaffirmedthecautiousapproach to the easing of restrictions being the key factor. He said the government recognises how vital it is to "allow children back to face to face learning as quickly as possible" as there are "huge benefits"both socially and educationally. He said that evidence shows that there is less risk of transmission amongst young pupils.