Coronavirus crisis latest

Confusion as SNP advice contradicts UK-wide agreement

NICOLA Sturgeon is urging Scots to stay in their own homes this Christmas and delay family celebrations – despite the relaxation of Covid rules.

The First Minister issued fresh guidance last night amid growing concerns about rising case numbers, a new strain of the virus and the impact on the NHS.

Miss Sturgeon spoke out only hours after the four UK nations ‘unanimously agreed’ to keep relaxed Christmas Covid rules in place.

It prompted fears that the public would be confused after six basic rules for Christmas became 12 contradictory restrictions.

Families will be allowed to form ‘bubbles’ of up to three households between December 23 and 27, allowing relatives to meet indoors and socialise over the festive period.

But at her daily coronavirus briefing, Miss Sturgeon said the safest way to celebrate Christmas was ‘unequivocally’ to stay in your own home and not mix with others.

She added: ‘If you haven’t made plans to form a bubble, please don’t.

‘If you are still swithering, please decide against. And if you have made plans but think they are not really essential, please think about postponing until later in the year.

‘The reality is that this Christmas simply can’t be normal.

‘But we have every reason to hope that next year’s will be much more normal.’

Last night, the Scottish Government published updated guidance on Christmas gatherings – in addition to what will legally be allowed under the UK-wide rules.

Three households will be allowed to meet up indoors. But the new guidance advice states: ‘You do not have to form a bubble if you do not want to. The safest way to spend Christmas is to stay in your own household, in your own home.’

It adds: ‘Minimise the number of people in a Christmas bubble... the smaller the bubble, the better and safer it will be’. The Scottish Government advice also states families should ‘minimise time spent’ with their bubble, ‘especially indoors’.

It adds: ‘We recommend you do not meet up with the people in your bubble on any more than one day over the period and do not stay overnight unless unavoidable.’

Families will be allowed to stay overnight at a relative’s home and no travel restrictions have been put in place, allowing people to make journeys across the UK.

But Miss Sturgeon’s latest guidance urges Scots to ‘avoid all travel between high prevalence and low prevalence areas – in particular, that means avoiding travel to or from Scotland and Tier 3 areas in

England, and to or from any Level 4 areas in Scotland (of which there are currently none).’

Last night, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Our strong advice this Christmas is to stay at home with your own household. Any interaction with other households should, as far as possible, be outdoors.

‘That is the best way of keeping yourself and your loved ones safe this Christmas.

‘Being asked not to see loved ones at Christmas unless absolutely essential is one of the toughest things imaginable. But this year, it is essential to help keep people safe.

‘With a vaccination programme now under way, a return to more normal life is on the horizon – and I hope that the prospect of brighter days ahead will help all of us get through this difficult Christmas.’

Miss Sturgeon said the fournation talks were called ‘because in parts of the UK cases are rising again, and in some parts of the UK rising quite rapidly’.

Cases in Scotland are ‘lower than in other nations’, Miss Sturgeon added, but she stressed the need to consider the ‘evolving situation’. Scotland recorded 689 new cases in the past 24 hours, with 38 deaths of people who tested positive for the virus in the previous 28 days, taking this total to 4,173.

Some 6,092 people in Scotland have died with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 as of Sunday, figures published yesterday show.

Dr Lewis Morrison, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said: ‘There is still plenty of chance to consider your plans and either adjust them in line with advice or stick to the limited plans you had in place.

‘The decisions we all make will have direct consequences on how large a rise in cases we see in January, and as a result how our NHS is able to cope.’

‘Stay in your own household’