New lockdown measures to take effect across Scotland from midnight
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The Highlands and the rest of mainland Scotland have been placed into a full lockdown starting from midnight tonight.
Making the announcement this afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon said she was more concerned now than “at any time since March last year".
Following a cabinet meeting, the First Minister described the situation as a race between the vaccine programme and the spiralling number of cases and the new highly contagious variant of Covid-19.
The gravity of the situation, with 1905 new cases confirmed today, saw Ms Sturgeon recall the Scottish Parliament for the second time in four weeks and just the fifth time ever.
The fresh positive tests were down on the 2464 recorded on Sunday.
There have been no localised breakdowns of coronavirus figures over the New Year weekend, and the next set of figures for NHS Highland will not be released until later today – when the case load from January 1 to January 4 will finally be known.
The First Minister described the raft of new measures as being similar to the lockdown imposed on the country in March 2020. However, there were some significant changes.
People are only allowed to leave home for essential purposes, which include food shopping, caring for someone and exercise – but, unlike in March, there will be no limit placed on the amount of exercise that can be taken
Schools will close at least until the end of January, with online learning taking the place of face-to-face teaching in classrooms.
Businesses have been asked to review their operations to ensure that everything that can be done from home should be done from home. For those who were shielding, they must now work from home.
All outdoor gatherings will be reduced from six people from two households down to two people from two households for everyone aged 12 years and over, while those aged 11 and under can still relatively freely mix and play together.
From Friday, religious services will no longer be permitted, while only 20 people will be allowed at funerals and wakes are now banned. Weddings and civil partnerships will be limited to five people.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The cabinet met this morning to assess the up-to-date Covid situation, which I must say at the outset is extremely serious.
“I can confirm now that in summary we have decided to introduce from midnight tonight, for the duration of January, a legal requirement to stay at home except for essential purposes. This is similar to the lockdown of March last year.
"This is not just about one single day's numbers – we are now seeing a steeply rising trend of infections. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that I am more concerned about the situation we face now than I have been at any time since March last year."
Ms Sturgeon warned that without action Scotland could "breach" inpatient capacity within two or three weeks.
