Toss another haggis on the BBQ! Scots can visit loved ones in the garden
FAmILIES in Scotland will be allowed to meet each other as soon as next week but schools will not reopen until August, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.
the First minister refused to follow the Prime minister’s relaxation of restrictions last week and instead announced her own four-point plan for easing the lockdown.
Scots will be allowed to meet those from another household outside – including in their gardens, raising the prospect of summer barbecues – as well as sunbathe and take part in some non-contact sports from the end of next week.
the rules are more lax than in England, where an individual can meet up with only one other person from another household – and they cannot meet in gardens.
Schools will not reopen until August 11 – two months after England – and even then they will open only on a part-time basis.
to ensure social distancing in class, children will return to a ‘blended model of part-time inschool and part-time at-home learning’, the plan says.
teachers will begin returning to classrooms from next month without pupils to prepare for the changes, miss Sturgeon said.
She told the Scottish parliament: ‘I cannot rule out that at some point over the next few months we might have to go back the way, because this virus is unpredictable. If we move too quickly or without proper care, it could run out of control again very quickly.’
She came under criticism for the plans. Scottish tory leader Jackson
‘Impossible to understand’
Carlaw said: ‘the risk of a phased lockdown with its many variations is that it becomes overly complicated and impossible for people to understand what is appropriate or indeed permissible.’
miss Sturgeon’s plan is based on World health Organisation advice and the experience of other nations easing lockdown. She told holyrood the first phase could begin on may 28, but ‘not every phase one measure will necessarily be introduced immediately’.
the initial changes include the gradual reopening of drive-through food outlets as well as garden centres and plant nurseries.
the plan says: ‘We are also planning for one household to meet up with another household outdoors, in small numbers, including in gardens, but with physical distancing.’
the second phase could see Scots allowed to meet larger groups of family and friends outside, and also meet those from another household indoors with distancing and hygiene measures in place.
At that point pubs and restaurants could open outdoor spaces such as beer gardens, again with distancing and increased hygiene.
Phase three will see pubs and restaurants open indoor spaces, and ‘ personal retail services’ including hairdressers begin to trade again.
Phase four will be reached when ‘the virus remains suppressed to very low levels and is no longer considered a significant threat to public health’.
this final phase will see mass gatherings resume, and schools and childcare provision ‘operating with any necessary precautions’. Working from home and flexible working will still be encouraged and ‘all types of workplaces would be open in line with public health advice’.
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