COMPLIANCE with new coronavirus restrictions put in place last Friday has been “good”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Pubs and restaurants in the central belt have been ordered to close, while elsewhere alcohol can only be served in outdoor areas.
The moves were part of a range of new measures enforced to halt a rise in Covid-19 cases and follow a continuing nationwide ban on visiting other households indoors.
Speaking during the Scottish Government’s daily briefing in Edinburgh yesterday, the First Minister thanked individuals and businesses for complying with the new measures.
She said: “The early anecdotal evidence that we have from the police would suggest that compliance with the new rules and with rules generally has been good.
“That’s encouraging – these new restrictions are really tough for everybody and they are tough for businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector.
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“Nobody is unaware of that but they are vital for helping to stem the increase in cases, bring it back under control and of course stem the increase in hospital admissions and illness that we have been seeing.”
With the measures in place for two weeks, Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish Government is looking to ensure the long-term suppression of the virus.
The First Minister added a planned tiered alert system will look to align as closely with the rest of the UK as possible.
Speaking after a Cobra meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and leaders of the devolved administrations, the First Minister said her proposal will be put before the Scottish Parliament after the October recess.
She said: “At a strategic level, we will be looking to align as closely as possible with the other UK nations – I think it is important and it makes sense to try to do that.”
“Though, I would stress that operational decisions about what tiers may apply in which parts of our nations will be for each of us to take at a devolved level.”
The First Minister reiterated that, as well as the new tiered alert system, other measures including a revamp of the testing strategy, the extension of face covering regulations and strengthening compliance with public health guidance – particularly around self-isolation – will be put in place.
At the start of the briefing the First Minister announced that a total of 961 people had tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland in the previous 24 hours.
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She said 39,959 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 38,998 the day before.
This is 17.1% of newly-tested individuals, up from 14.9% the previous day.
Of the new cases, 359 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 244 in Lanarkshire, 112 in Lothian, and 88 in Ayrshire and Arran.
No deaths of confirmed Covid-19 patients have been recorded in the past 24 hours and the number of fatalities remains at 2550.
There are 487 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up by 38 in 24 hours.
Of these patients, 36 were in intensive care, up one.
The First Minister also indicated tighter restrictions in the future to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Scotland are not inevitable.
Asked about whether the country would see tighter measures introduced later, she said the government had sought by bringing in new restrictions “quickly” to prevent long-lasting or tighter ones being necessary in the future.
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“In a UK context we have taken this action quite early as our case numbers per 100,000 of the population is a bit lower than it is in many other parts of the UK,” she said. “So this is a necessary measure, a preventative measure by intention.”
Turning to whether further measures would be inevitable, she said that while hopefully science “will ride to our rescue through a vaccine”, people will be living with the virus for a while to come.
She said measures such as wearing face coverings, physical distancing and working from home if possible would continue but she added: “If we all comply strictly with these things we will hopefully reduce the need for the heavier restrictions that are more associated with lockdown.”
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