HERE COMES THE SUMMER!
++ Scotland finally gets route out of lockdown ++ End of stay at home rule in April ++ Phased opening of shops, tourism, bars and restaurants in May ++ Return to ‘normal’ life in June
SCOTS have finally been offered hope of a return to near normality this summer under a new route map out of lockdown.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday revealed details of how she will lift curbs on freedom which have been in place for much of the past year.
A series of steps over the next three months will allow for the reopening of the economy – including pubs and restaurants – and the return of socialising with friends and relatives.
In an upbeat message, which was possible because of the successful rollout of the vaccine across the UK, Miss Sturgeon told MSPs that ‘brighter days are indeed ahead of us’. Although she did not give a precise date for the return of normal family gatherings ‘where we can hug our loved ones’ or for sporting events, gigs and nightclubs, she said: ‘I am optimistic that this date will be over the summer.
‘I know I will not be the only one looking forward, with a real sense of hope, to hugging my family this summer.’
The new route map will see the ‘stay at home’ order lifted from April 2, with people initially told to ‘stay local’ until they are able to travel freely across Scotland and possibly other parts of the UK from April 26.
There is no definite date for the return of non-essential foreign travel, although it will not be allowed before May 17 and ‘may well not be possible for a further period after that’.
Hairdressers and barbers, as well as
click-and-collect retail services, garden centres and homeware shops, can reopen from April 5.
Another major easing of restrictions on April 26 allows for the reopening of nonessential shops, gyms, hotels, B&Bs, holiday accommodation, libraries, museums and galleries, while up to 50 people will be able to attend weddings and funerals.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes will begin a phased return on April 26, with alcohol initially only allowed outdoors until 10pm, while premises selling food and non-alcoholic drinks must shut at 8pm indoors.
Indoor alcohol will be allowed until 10.30pm from May 17, the same date as the return of cinemas, amusement arcades, bingo halls, adult contact sport, and smallscale indoor and outdoor events.
In early June, it is anticipated that the whole country will fall to Level 1 of the fivetier lockdown framework, which includes the resumption of all leisure and entertainment businesses apart from nightclubs and adult entertainment venues.
In late June, it is hoped Scotland can enter Level 0, allowing up to eight people from three households to meet in private homes. Restaurants, cafes and pubs would also be able to return to normal operations.
No firm date has been given for the lifting of a series of other restrictions, although Miss Sturgeon is ‘optimistic’ this will be over the summer. These include the removal of physical distancing and the reopening of nightclubs.
Miss Sturgeon told MSPs she was providing a ‘significant degree of clarity’ for the period up to the middle of May, but less clarity beyond that.
She said: ‘It is our fervent hope – and also our tentatively increasing expectation – that vaccination, continued use of the test and protect system, and probably a continued compliance with precautions like good hand hygiene, will allow us to keep Covid under much greater control.
‘This will allow us to enjoy many of the things that we took for granted before the pandemic – for example, normal family gatherings where we can hug our loved ones. For me to set a precise date for all of that now would involve plucking it out of thin air – and I’d be doing it to make my life easier, not yours. I am not going to do that.
‘But I do believe that over coming weeks, as more and more adults are vaccinated, it will be possible to set a firmer date by which many of these normal things will be possible. I am optimistic this date will be over the summer.’
She added: ‘This is the most hopeful I’ve felt about the situation for a long time.’
But the First Minister warned: ‘Making sure this is the last lockdown involves taking careful, cautious and sensible decisions.
‘Sometimes having to take unpopular decisions in order that we can make sure that our exit from this lockdown, even if it is a bit slower than we are all desperate for it to be, is a steady one and firmly in one direction and that we don’t end up setting ourselves backwards.’
Business leaders yesterday welcomed finally being given clear dates on restrictions being lifted.
Marc Crothall, of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, called it ‘the most positive news we have received in a long time [offering] some very much needed light at the end of what has been the darkest tunnel for our industry’.
CBI Scotland director Tracy Black said: ‘While tentative steps out of lockdown will be a boost for business, we’re still some way off turning the page on the pandemic. Level 3 restrictions remain tough, especially if diverging from elsewhere in the UK.’
Dr Liz Cameron, of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘Today’s announcement is a good start. It will enable many businesses to start planning and preparing for reopening with confidence and optimism.’
‘Confidence and optimism’