First Minister calls for household mixing to be kept to a minimum as Omicron cases rise
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Nicola Sturgeon has called for mixing among households to be kept to a minimum in the run-up to Christmas and immediately afterwards to help slow the spread of the Omicron variant.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, the First Minister warned that Omicron has “a very high attack rate” and she repeated her earlier prediction that Scotland is facing a “likely tsunami” of infections.
Omicron cases are rising “exponentially”, she said, and it is on course to become the dominant strain in Scotland within a matter of days.
Ms Sturgeon indicated that businesses will be asked to step up the protections in place in their premises. She also said more people could be working from home than is currently the case.
Ms Sturgeon spoke of a race between the Covid-19 vaccination programme and the spread of the virus.
“Just as vaccines started to win this race, the virus learned to run faster,” the First Minister said. “That means we must deliver boosters even faster.”
She emphasised that she was not asking anyone to “cancel” their Christmas.
“But in the run-up to Christmas, and in the immediate aftermath, I am asking everyone to reduce as far as possible, and to a minimum, the contacts we have with people in other households.
“We are not banning or restricting household mixing in law as before. We understand the negative impact this has on mental health and wellbeing.
“But we are asking everyone to cut down as far as possible the number of people outside our own households that we are interacting with just now. This will help break transmission chains.
“So my key request today is this – before and immediately after Christmas, please minimise your social mixing with other households as much as you can.
“However, if you do plan on socialising, either at home or in indoor public places, we are asking that you limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three and make sure you test before you go.
“I know this is a tough thing to ask people to do, especially at this time of year, so I want to be clear why we are making this request.
“One of the things we have already learned about Omicron is that it has a very high attack rate. That means if just one person in a gathering is infectious, that person is likely to infect many more people in the group than is the case with the Delta variant.
“So, by reducing the numbers of people and households gathering together, we help limit the extent of its spread.
“Turning to Christmas Day specifically – or Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, or whenever you have your main family celebration – we are not asking you to cancel or change your plans, and we are not proposing limits on the size of household gatherings.
“Places of worship will also remain open with appropriate mitigation. But we will issue guidance to help you make Christmas safer.”
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government had identified, “within our own resources”, around £100 million that will be used to help businesses, mainly those in hospitality and food supply.
