Sturgeon: We need to learn to live with Covid
● First Minister hints at new approach ahead of statement on restrictions
Nicola Sturgeon has suggested people should expect to have to wear face coverings for the long term as Scotland adapts to living with coronavirus.
The First Minister is under pressure to relax Covid-19 restrictions in an announcement she is due to make to the Scottish Parliament today.
In an interview last night, she said Scotland will have to ask itself “what adaptations to pre-pandemic life” might be needed so the country can live with the virus.
She told STV’S Scotland Tonight: “Sometimes when you hear people talk about learning to live with Covid, what seems to be suggested is that one morning we’ll wake up and not have to worry about it any more, and not have to do anything to try to contain and control it.
“That’s not what I mean when I say ‘learning to live with it’. Instead, we will have to ask ourselves what adaptations to pre-pandemic life – face coverings, for example – might be required in the longer-term to enable us to live with it with far fewer protective measures.”
She added: “We are in a position where we all want to get to as much normality as possible. All of us, me included, really crave that. But we need to recognise that this virus, although we hope Omicron is milder than previous variants, this virus still takes lives and it still causes significant health impacts for people.”
Earlier, the Scottish Government said it had recorded 11,827 new cases of Covid-19 but no deaths in the previous 24 hours. It means the death toll under this measurement remains at 9,934. While no new deaths were reported, officials noted that register offices are now generally closed at weekends.
There were 1,432 people in hospital on Sunday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 50 on the previous day, with 54 people in intensive care, down one. Prime Minister Boris
said that he was looking at cutting self-isolation time to five days in England, but the First Minister said: “I don’t think that is something we should be doing anytime soon. But of course, we continue to assess these things, take advice, look at the data, and then make our judgments – and the judgments we make, of course, we are held accountable for.”
She will today update MSPS on rules around large gatherings and hospitality that came into force on December 26. These limits were initially brought into force for a three-week period, set to end on Monday.
Hospitality and business leaders have pleaded with her to scrap the rules from that date, while some scientists have urged caution.
Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, said restricjohnson tions in Scotland since Boxing Day have been beneficial, and the UK Government should have followed suit.
He called for continued “caution”, adding that it was “misleading” to label Omicron a “mild” variant as the impact on hospitalisations of older people and children, as well as the variant’s long-term effects, are not yet known.
But Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) demanded Ms Sturgeon end “damaging” restrictions that threaten the survival of businesses.
More than three-quarters of 170 businesses in the north east who were surveyed by the AGCC between Friday and Monday said the Scottish Government was not balancing health and economic harms correctly with its Covid-19 policy.
“The First Minister must announce the end of these damaging restrictions this week,” said policy director Ryan Crighton. “Not doing so places the very survival of many businesses at risk and jobs on the line.”
He added: “The latest data suggests that the Scottish Government’s gamble with our hospitality sector and high streets has failed, despite weeks of warnings.
“We have been calling for ministers to recalibrate their response since before Christmas following the publication of various studies on the severity of Omicron.
“Our position has been that if you are going to close or restrict businesses, then you need to compensate in full for the losses incurred.
“However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the funds simply aren’t available to support companies.”
The Scottish Licensed Trade Association also called for the curbs to be abandoned.
Spokesperson Paul Waterson said: "We understand that the Government is in a difficult position, yet the position we’re in at the moment is the worst we could be in.
"We're not officially closed, but the Government has effectively closed us because they've told people to be very careful and not come out, but we’re not really getting any help of any substance.
“All anybody has to do is go through our city centres to see the amount of places that are actually closed at the moment that haven't reopened after Christmas and New Year”.
Leon Thompson, director of Ukhospitality Scotland, said businesses were “desperate” to see the end of restrictions.
"We now need to see the removal of restrictions to allow businesses to increase capacity and for nightclubs to reopen to help revitalise the night-time economy,” he said.
“Restrictions on events are also damaging hospitality. The cancellation of business events and uncertainty about Scotland’ s six nations games at Murrayfield is resulting in the further erosion of consumer confidence.
“Major events like the Six Nations are vital for hospitality. Edinburgh’s hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants will miss out on another opportunity to generate much needed revenue if Scotland’s home games are not played in front of capacity crowds at Murrayfield.”
Scottish Labour’s Health and Covid Recovery spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said today’s update would be “a chance to take a serious look at where we stand in suppressing this virus, and what the latest data is telling us”.
“We need to make sure any and all restrictions are rooted firmly in the evidence and backed up by proper financial support,” she said.
“We also need a real plan to protect health and social care, which have been pushed to breaking point due to staffing shortages. Hospitals up and down the country are struggling to cope, and the lack of social care packages are leaving vulnerable people stranded without support.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “The Scottish public need to see some light at the end of the tunnel, so it’s time for the First Minister to produce a timetable on the new strategic framework that she promised.
“People want reassurance that restrictions won’t stay in force for a moment longer than absolutely necessary.
“After almost two years of sacrifice, the public need to see a bold timetable from the Scottish Government that will enable us to live safely with Covid.”
A report published by the Scottish Government ahead of Ms Sturgeon’s announcement put the case rate in Scotland at 2,824 per day per million people, in the week to last Thursday. In the same period the rate was 2,615 in England.
However, the most recent infection survey by the Office for National Statistics, considered by some to be a more accurate estimate of virus levels, estimated about one in 20 people in scotland had covi din the week to December 31, compared to one in 15 in England.
Prof Young warned it was “almost impossible” to compare data between nations, as a range of variables need to be adjusted for.