Some light at end of Covid-19 tunnel

Following the return this week of some younger children to school and the reopening of nurseries, the first minister has now set out some of the landmark dates when Scotland may start to progress ‘cautiously’ out of lockdown.

Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday there would be a progressive easing of level four restrictions with intervals of ‘at least’ three weeks. She said that, if the ‘data allows and positive trends continue,’ the government would seek to ‘accelerate’ the easing of the restrictions.

At the beginning of April, reopening of retail would start with an extension of the definition of ‘essential retail’, with the hope that by the end of April, all parts of the country would be able to move from level four to level three.

This would see a ‘phased but significant’ reopening of the economy – including non-essential retail, hospitality and services such as gyms and hairdressers.

Andrew McRae, the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Scotland policy chairperson, warned last week: ‘Half of Scotland’s business owners are worried about whether their firm will make it through to the end of this crisis.’

FSB’s Highlands and Islands development manager David Richardson added: ‘The situation is critical across Scotland, but nowhere more so than in the Highlands, where 54 per cent of businesses are currently closed, 45 per cent of them by law.

‘This compares to 35 per cent of all businesses in Scotland as a whole and only 20 per cent in Glasgow.

‘Moreover, 35 per cent of Highland businesses describe themselves as ‘really struggling/barely staying afloat’, compared to 28 per cent for Scotland and 25 per cent for Glasgow.

‘The Highlands is dominated by its visitor economy and times are really hard. The future of many of our great businesses depends on a relatively early reopening or, failing that, substantial government support to tide them over until we do.’