FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon and chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith will hold a coronavirus briefing this afternoon as parts of Scotland prepare to move down a Covid level.
This week the FM announced a “slight slowing down” in the lifting of restrictions as the Delta Covid variant continues to spread. Yesterday it emerged the variant is now dominant in the UK, and cases are rising.
Most of the central belt will stay in level 2 restrictions – Edinburgh, Midlothian, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North, South and East Ayrshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire and Stirling will remain there for a further week at least.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon update: All Scottish areas' Covid lockdown level changes
Glasgow is finally coming out of level 3 restrictions tomorrow, with Sturgeon noting case numbers appeared to have stabilised, which will allow hospitality venues to serve alcohol indoors. Six people from three households can meet inside and stay overnight, and people can hug their loved ones.
Meanwhile Highland, Argyll and Bute, Aberdeen city, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Falkirk, Fife, Inverclyde, East and West Lothian, West Dunbartonshire, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders will shift to level one from tomorrow.
And Orkney, Shetland, Na h-Eileanan Siar, islands in the Highlands apart from Skye, and the Argyll and Bute islands can move to level 0 tomorrow. This will allow all leisure and entertainment firms, but not nightclubs, to open, and allows eight people from four households to gather indoors, 10 people from four households to gather in hospitality venues and 15 people from 15 households to meet outside.
The changes come amid concern around the Delta variant. Speaking this morning, Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London said the variant is somewhere between 30% and 100% more transmissible than the Alpha (formerly Kent) variant.
READ MORE: Scotland is heading into third wave of Covid pandemic, Jason Leitch warns
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “We’re certainly getting more data. Unfortunately, I mean, the news is not as positive as I would like on any respect about the Delta variant.
“The best estimate at the moment is this variant may be 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant.
“There’s some uncertainty around that depending on assumption and how you analyse the data, between about 30% and maybe even up to 100% more transmissible.”
The First Minister’s briefing will air at 12.15pm and will be available to watch on the Scottish Government’s Twitter and Facebook feeds.
It will likely be shown on the BBC News channel, and The National will be reporting all the key news on our website and live blog.
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