THERE is still a "significant risk" that coronavirus could "run out of control again", Nicola Sturgeon warned – saying that is why Scotland has only "very cautiously" started to ease lockdown restrictions.
With scientists having expressed fears that the lockdown in England may be being eased to soon, the First Minister pledged: "Scotland will continue to take a very cautious, very slow and steady route out of lockdown."
Sturgeon also questioned whether care home deaths in England linked to the virus were being under-reported – saying she was confident figures for this in Scotland were "robust".
Her comments came after England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said the easing of restrictions created a "very dangerous moment" in the fight against Covid-19.
And Professor Devi Sridhar of Edinburgh University, a member of the Scottish Government's Covid-19 advisory group, said she feared a rise in coronavirus numbers in England was "inevitable".
READ MORE: Daily briefing: England's deputy CMO makes views on Cummings clear
Boris Johnson announced last week that from Monday in England, friends and family can meet in parks and gardens in socially distanced groups of six, while some youngsters will also return to school.
In addition, more than two million clinically extremely vulnerable people in England who have been shielding since March will be allowed to spend time with other people outdoors.
Sturgeon has stressed this does not apply to Scots who are shielding, while most Scots schools are not due to return until August 11.
The First Minister told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: "For what it's worth, I agree with the opinion that has been expressed over the weekend that we have got to be very cautious, this virus hasn't gone away, there is still a significant risk it could run out of control again.
"That's why in Scotland we are moving very slowly, very cautiously."
READ MORE: Friends and families reunited across Scotland as lockdown eases
Scotland entered the first phase of a four-part plan for easing lockdown on Friday, with people now allowed to meet in groups of eight outdoors in parks or gardens. But these gatherings can only include members of two separate households.
"We have just gone into phase one of our route map out of lockdown and that expressly recognises that in that phase there is a significant risk that the epidemic is not fully contained," Sturgeon said.
"So our focus has been very much on allowing some more outdoor activity, because we know the risks of transmission outside, while they are not zero, are lower than they are indoors, and we are asking people to continue to follow all the rules on physical distancing, hygiene, making sure they are not allowing the virus to spread on hard surfaces between households."
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