ACT NOW TO SAVE XMAS!
Sticking to new rules could save festive plans for millions of Scots, says Sturgeon
SCOTS must act now to drive levels of Covid-19 as ‘low as possible’ in a bid to save Christmas.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday warned she cannot guarantee a ‘normal’ festive period.
However, she claimed if ‘we all behave in a way’ that helps stop the spread of coronavirus we will have ‘more not less normality’.
At her daily briefing, the First Minister said she was being ‘frank’ with Scots amid fears families could be forced to spend Christmas apart.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Nicola Steedman also encouraged people to stick to the current restrictions, insisting it was the ‘best opportunity’ to allow festivities.
She claimed driving down levels of Covid-19 would help ensure there are ‘as few restrictions as possible’ in place in December.
It comes as tough limits banning people from meeting inside homes were introduced in Lanarkshire last
night after a spike in cases. With 205 people testing positive for coronavirus in a week, Miss Sturgeon has put those living in North and South Lanarkshire in the Covid clampdown with Glasgow.
Similar measures in East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire, covering 1.1million people, will be reviewed in seven days.
Elsewhere, from Monday only six people from two households may gather inside and outdoors – throwing large family gatherings for Christmas in doubt.
The move comes as Covid-19 cases have surged in Scotland, with a further 175 people testing positive for the virus.
New restrictions have also been announced for the hospitality sector, while Miss Sturgeon has paused the reopening of live music venues, theatres and indoor play areas.
Yesterday, Miss Sturgeon was asked whether the move could see families forced to choose between which children and relatives they invite to celebrate the festive period. She said it was ‘difficult’ as families, including her own, start to prepare for Christmas, but said it remained a number of months away, adding: ‘It’s just not possible to be certain about the circumstances we will face then.’
Although admitting everyone ‘desperately’ wants to ‘think we will have as normal a Christmas as possible’, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘All I can say to people is I can’t give you definitive answers right now.
‘But what we can all do now is behave in a way that drives this infection as low as possible to give us as much hope as possible, without any scientific developments that might or might not happen.
‘Putting that aside, if we all behave in a way that drives this as low as possible, [we] give ourselves the best chance of having more not less normality by the time we get to Christmas.’
However, she said: ‘But we are in a global pandemic and I’m afraid as much as every fibre of my being would love to just look down this camera and say “don’t worry about Christmas, it will all be fine by Christmas”, I would love to be able to say that but I can’t.’
The Scottish Government has not set a date for lifting the new restrictions on gatherings, which also affect the number of people and households who can meet at venues such as pubs and restaurants.
Dr Steedman yesterday said it would be a number of weeks before the new measures to ‘reduce transmission of the virus’ will take effect, with experts able to analyse whether it is helping.
She added: ‘The important thing is what we do now will dictate at least in part what happens around Christmastime. This is why we need to act, at this time when we see the virus going up, to try to get it back down again as quickly as we possibly can.’
There were a further 89 cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area yesterday, with 39 in Lanarkshire, 24 in Lothian and 12 in Ayrshire and Arran. Dr Steedman said: ‘This is a critical time but my message would be let’s all do everything we can now to get the virus back down as low as possible as we come into the winter period.
‘That is what will give us the best opportunity of having as few restrictions as possible when it comes to Christmas.’