Outdoor social distancing rules removed for children

Outdoor social distancing rules for children aged 11 and under – who are not shielding – will be removed from Friday.

Nicola Sturgeon announced the move at the Scottish Government’s daily briefing on coronavirus on Thursday.

The First Minister said it would help children “enjoy these summer holidays”.

She said: “That will allow you to play more normally with your friends, which I hope you will enjoy.

“I’m sure this move will also be appreciated by your parents and carers.”

The youngsters are being advised to meet in groups of eight or less and with no more than two other households at a time.

Despite the change outdoors, children are still advised to stay two metres away from people indoors.

For older children aged between 12 and 17, physical distancing will remain in place.

However, the Scottish Government has lifted the limit on the number of meetings they can have in any one day.

The First Minister said: “You can meet different groups of friends at different times of the day.

“It also means you won’t be prevented from meeting your friends just because your parents or carers or your brother or sister happens to be meeting their friends.”

Sturgeon said she hoped to announce more changes next week on how “households can meet, interact and play”.

She also hopes she can confirm organised contact sports for children can resume from July 13.

The First Minister added: “It is only because so many of us have stuck to the rules so far that we are able to take these steps out of lockdown.

“And only if we continue to stick to the rules will we be able to drive the virus down further and live less restricted lives in the weeks and months ahead.

“For more businesses to reopen, for public services to get back to normal, for more of us to be able to meet indoors, for our children to go back to school full-time from August, all of these collective benefits depend on the decisions we make as individuals now and in the days and weeks to come.”