LOCK Parents’hopesdashedas schoolsstayclosedand restrictionsremainuntil themiddleofFebruary DOWNER
SCHOOLS will remain closed to most pupils and lockdown restrictions will continue until at least the middle of February as Scotland battles the spread of lethal Covid-19.
Nicola Sturgeon claimed strict measures are “having an impact” but warned the country is still in a precarious position.
Another 71 deaths were registered in Scotland yesterday and 1165 new positive infections were recorded.
Across the UK, a shocking 1610 people were confirmed dead within 28 days of a positive test – the biggest figure in a single day since the pandemic started.
The number of people in Scottish hospitals with Covid-19 is 30 per cent higher than the previous peak of the pandemic last year, and there’s a serious outbreak in the Western Isles causing alarm.
Sturgeon told Holyrood: “That means that the lockdown restrictions – including the strict stay-at-home requirement – will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February.” For parents of school children, it means home lessons will continue up to mid-term holidays next month. The measures will be reviewed again by the Scottish Government on February 2. The latest confirmed infection figures were discussed by public health officials and the Government in the morning.
Some improvements were noted but pockets of the country are suffering.
Sturgeon said: “Any relaxation of lockdown while case numbers remain high, even though they might be declining, could quickly send the situation into reverse.
“We believe that the lockdown restrictions – and the sacrifices everyone continues to make – are beginning to have an impact.
“However, it is important to be cautious.
“I continue to be very grateful to people across the country for their patience and resilience in the face of this extraordinary challenge.
“At the moment, lockdown is the best way of keeping each other safe, as vaccination continues.
“It is how we can
I know how challenging and stressful this is NICOLA STURGEON SYMPATHISES WITH FAMILIES
protect
ourselves and our loved ones. On schools, Sturgeon added: “I also know just how challenging and stressful this situation is for families. “And above all, I understand how difficult, distressing and damaging it is for children and young people to have their education and their normal interactions with friends so disrupted.” She continued: “If it is at all possible, as I very much hope it will be, to begin even a phased return to in-school learning in mid-February, we will.” Meanwhile, 80 per cent of care home residents have now received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine.
About 70 per cent of care home and health care staff have been given their first dose.
Sturgeon said three million people in Scotland will have their first jab by early May.
The vaccination programme is picking up across the UK but politicians risked turning the logistical challenge into a war of words.
Yesterday, Tory MSP Ruth Davidson challenged the First Minister on the speed of getting doses into arms.
Davidson claimed 717,000 doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca drugs had been received but more than 400,000 doses have yet to be given to patients.
Sturgeon said the Tories are “briefing and spinning misleading figures on supply”, and accused the UK Government of throwing a “hissy fit” with her administration.
It follows an apology by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman for briefly publishing “sensitive” details of the vaccine programme after UK Government complaints.