‘Nobody can predict’ when physical distancing will end in Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has said physical distancing may be removed once there is more understanding about how the vaccine programme impacts transmission of Covid-19.

However, the First Minister, the national clinical director and the chief medical officer said it would be wrong to speculate when this might happen, with Professor Jason Leitch saying “none of us can predict” when the measures may be binned.

Ms Sturgeon said she would not rule out removing the restrictions around physical distancing “later in the year”, but added she would be “very cautious” of those suggesting they had a clearly timeframe.

She said: “I think to be definitive about that right now would be entirely speculative.”

Gregor Smith, the chief medicalofficer,saidonceseconddoses of the vaccine were administered,thescottishgovernment hopes to see more data which will give them a clearer view on to what extent vaccination impacts transmission of Covid-19.

This could lead to a “calibration” of measures in the future, Dr Smith said.

He said: “As the vaccination programme proceeds and we learnmoreabouttransmission, itmaybethatwecanstarttotailorsomeofourotherapproaches a little bit more.

"But at this moment of time, for the foreseeable future just now, we are still going to need some of those behavioural protections that we all take for grantedeverydayforsometime yet I suspect. To speculate as to when we’ll be able to start to change some of those just now is probably unhelpful because there is much that we have still to learn about the impact particularlyofthevaccinationprogramme on transmission yet.”