SCOTLAND’S shops will re-open at the end of the month as Nicola Sturgeon moved to lift more of the Government’s coronavirus restrictions.
However, the nation’s pubs will remain closed for just a little bit longer.
Speaking in Holyrood yesterday, the First Minister – announcing the formal move into phase two of the route map out of lockdown – stressed that all changes needed to be gradual and cautious.
She told MSPs that the human cost of Covid-19 had been “devastating”.
READ MORE: Phase 2: The 13 new changes as Scotland’s lockdown restrictions eased
“It should serve as a serious warning against any complacency as we move into the next phase of fighting what is a dangerous, and often deadly, virus.
“However the sustained decline in the number of people dying also demonstrates the progress we have made.
“Yesterday’s NRS data showed that the number of Covid deaths last week was less than 1/9 of the peak level. The number of people in intensive care has fallen by more than 90% since the peak.
“And hospital admissions – which at one stage were 200 a day – are down to single figures each day.
“The R number is currently below 1 and has been stable at between 0.6 and 0.9 for the last three weeks. And we estimate that the number of people who could be infectious with coronavirus in Scotland as of last Friday was 2900.
“Three weeks ago our estimate –which has since been revised – was 19,000.
“The progress we have made so far is therefore clear and substantial, and it has been made possible by the efforts and enormous sacrifices that people across Scotland have made. I am hugely grateful for all of that.”
READ MORE: Changes to shielding rules offer ‘light at end of the tunnel’ for Scots
Key changes include plans to allow households to meet up to two other households at the one time – though they will need to meet outdoors and keep two metres apart.
Those visiting friends in a private garden can also now use the other household’s toilet.
Though the First Minister said the risk was “too high” at this stage to allow more meetings indoors.
Another big change is the creation of “extended household groups”.
This – similar to the social bubbles that exist in England – will mean that anyone living alone, or only with children under 18, can now form an “extended household group” with one other household.
These groups can meet indoors, with overnight stays permitted and without physical distancing. Effectively, this means families being able to spend time with grandparents who live alone.
And, perhaps crucially for Scotland’s looming demographic timebomb, it means couples who don’t live together will, for the first time in three months, be able to spend the night together.
From next Monday, Scotland should see the resumption of professional sport and places of worship re-opening for “individual prayer and contemplation”.
And from Monday, June 29 some indoor workplaces can re-open, including factories, labs and warehouses, subject to strict physical distancing. Shops with outdoor entrances and exits will also be able to re-open from then.
Sturgeon told MSPs that a date for the re-opening of outdoor hospitality cannot be safely set at this stage but promised that a further update will be provided on July 2 following further advice from the Scottish Government’s Scientific Advisory Group.
Those who are shielding – who have been at home since lockdown began – are now allowed to go outside for exercise. From today they can take part in non-contact outdoor sports, such as golf and also meet people from one other household.
The First Minister told Holyrood: “The measures we have set out today are proportionate and cautious, but they are also significant.
“They restart more of the economy, re-open more public services and allow us to see more of our family friends – they also lay the groundwork for further changes to come.
“Crucially, we consider that if everyone abides by the rules and follows the guidance – which is vital – these changes are consistent with the continued suppression of the virus that is so critical to a sustainable recovery.”
The First Ministers said while it was important for Scots to stay at home as much as possible, the Government’s message needed to adapt. The Government will now be asking people “stay safe, protect others and save lives”.
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