New restrictions have been announced in Scotland, just hours after the announcement of new measures in England to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has announced that from Wednesday, people in Scotland will be banned on mixing with other households, saying that some of the measures announced in England will not go far enough alone to tackle the virus.
Here’s a look at the new restrictions announced for Scotland;
- Ban on households mixing across Scotland from Wednesday – some exemptions will apply, including for those living alone, or alone with children who form extended households. The rules also do not apply to tradespeople, couples who do not live together, or for the provision of informal childcare such as by relatives.
- No change on meeting people in public indoor settings or outdoor settings – people in Scotland will still be able to have a gathering limited to a maximum of six people from two households in public indoor settings such as pubs and restaurants. The same rules will also continue to apply in private gardens and other outdoor settings.
- Some exemptions for young people – young people aged 12-18 will be exempt from the limit of two households if they are meeting outside, while children under the age of 12 in Scotland will be exempt from the rule of six and the limit of two households when meeting outside.
- 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants as in England – the First Minister confirmed that Scotland will follow England in requiring such venues to close by 10pm each evening.
The new measures announced in Scotland go considerably further than in England, with the rules banning household mixing indoors for the whole country. This measure was not announced nationally in England, though it does already apply to some parts of England which are under localised restrictions.
The measure banning people in Scotland from visiting other people’s homes will only be new to some of the population, with parts of the country including Glasgow already under this restriction due to a recent rise in Coronavirus cases.
The new measures are set to be reviewed every three weeks.
