NICOLA Sturgeon has warned Scots not to expect an easing of lockdown “imminently” as she prepares today to give an update on the restrictions in place across the country to Holyrood.
Speaking ahead of the review, the First Minister said yesterday she is “very keen” to see P1 to P3 pupils as well as a limited number of older pupils return to the classroom.
However, she added that any moves to get some pupils back to school should not be seen as a sign that wider restrictions would ease soon.
Sturgeon is to update Holyrood this afternoon following a meeting of the Scottish Cabinet this morning.
She said any return to school for the groups identified – currently scheduled for February 22 – will depend on the prevalence of coronavirus.
READ MORE: Scotland overtakes England in coronavirus vaccine race thanks to huge surge
Speaking at the coronavirus briefing yesterday, the First Minister said: “We will look at the up to date data and take a final decision on that tomorrow, as we always said we would.
“I am very, very, very keen to go ahead with that if at all possible.”
She said the cabinet would also consider where it was possible to offer an “indicative timetable” for the next groups of pupils who could return to school.
Later in the briefing she added: “We are not imminently about to signal the reopening of pubs and restaurants. Obviously we want everything back to normal as quickly as possible but I’m not going to raise expectations that that is coming in the immediate timeframe.”
Data showed that efforts to suppress the virus were “going in the right direction”, she said, though the new strain of Covid-19 was declining at a slower rate.
Meanwhile, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government has met its target of offering the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups.
She spoke as Scotland recorded no deaths with Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours for the first time since January 18 – though figures are often lower at the beginning of the week as registration offices are closed
at weekends. A total of 559 positive tests were recorded since Sunday, bringing the total number since the start of the pandemic to 192,375. The death toll remains at 6715 under the daily measure.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon refuses to rule out closing Scotland-England border to stop Covid
She said levels of uptake of the vaccine had so far been “significantly beyond” the target
of 80% set out in the deployment plan.
She said “pretty much everybody” living in care homes for older people had been given their first injection, with this also applying to “close to 100%” of the estimated number of people aged over 80 and living in the community.
Meanwhile, more than 99% of those aged 75 to 79 have had their first injection, along with 85% of those aged 70 to 74 with Sturgeon saying many in this group are “maybe getting vaccinated today”. Some 53% of those aged 65 to 69 have also had their first jag.
“Today, mid-February, is the final day of the period during which we said we would have offered the vaccine to everyone over 70 and everyone who has an extreme clinical vulnerability,” she said.
“We will report today’s numbers tomorrow but I can say now that we are satisfied we have met that target. Everyone in these groups has been offered the vaccine.”
However, she did stress that “we cannot rule out some people may have slipped through the cracks”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here