Aberdeen city lockdown extended for at least a week

The First Minister has said lockdown restrictions will continue in Aberdeen city for at least another week.

Pubs, cafes and restaurants in the city will remain closed, while residents have been told not to visit other people’s homes.

People who live there have been told they should not travel more than five miles unless they have to, such as for work or education.

The restrictions first came into force last Wednesday.

Nicola Sturgeon said: “I want to stress that nobody wants these restrictions to be in place for longer than is necessary, they will be reviewed again in one week’s time and as soon as we can relax any of them we will do so.

“But at the moment the number of new cases we are seeing is still too high for that to be a safe or sensible course of action.”

The decision comes as it was confirmed 24 of the 47 new cases of coronavirus recorded in the last 24 hours are in the Grampian area.

A total of 272 cases have been identified in the health board area since July 26, with 177 of these thought to be linked to the outbreak in Aberdeen.

From the 177, 940 contacts have been identified.

Sturgeon also said: “We continue to watch closely for any signs the outbreak has spread to Aberdeenshire in any significant way but at present we are not placing any additional restrictions on people living in the ‘Shire.”