PEOPLE living on Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles will be able to visit each other's homes indoors from Friday, the First Minister has announced.
Nicola Sturgeon revealed that the current ban on household visiting would no longer apply in these areas from the end of the week as she set out the first update reviewing how the five tier level of curbs would apply.
The restriction on visiting other households indoors has been in force across Scotland since 23 September.
Setting out the review's decision, the First Minister told MSPs no council area - including the island local authorities - would move down a level because of the high number of infections in the country, but said the curb on household visits in these three communities would be lifted.
"In light of the situation I have just outlined, it would clearly not be prudent to ease restrictions today - with one exception for our three island authorities, which I will set out shortly," she said.
"There is one restriction that we intend to ease for people living in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles.
"From Friday, residents of those three island authorities will be able to meet with one other household inside their homes, up to a strict maximum of six people.
"We are able to make this change because case numbers in these island authorities are very low and sporadic, and we recognise that the social isolation caused by such a restriction is often exacerbated in island communities where there are not as many public places to meet."
But she warned: "However - and this is an important caveat - importation of the virus is a real risk to the islands. For that reason, we will be issuing clear guidance advising anyone who goes to or returns to the islands from the mainland to avoid in-house mixing for a period after their return."
The First Minister added that her government did "not yet consider" it prudent to lift the household ban for people living in Highland and Moray, the other level 1 areas.
"Although cases in these areas remain relatively low, we have seen some volatility in recent days," she said.
"So to people living across the Highlands and in Moray, as for people in the rest of the country, we continue to ask that you do not visit each other’s homes - except for essential purposes, such as childcare, looking after a vulnerable person or being part of an extended household."
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