Toughest coronavirus restrictions to be eased on Friday

The toughest coronavirus restrictions affecting more than two million Scots will be eased on Friday, the First Minister has confirmed.

The 11 local authority areas currently in level four will now move to level three as planned.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed a total of 16 changes.

East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian will all move to level three.

Inverclyde, Falkirk and Angus will move from level three to level two, while Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders will move from level two to level one.

The First Minister told MSPs that consideration had been made for moving Edinburgh to level two, however its closeness to Christmas had quashed the decision. The situation will be reassessed next week.

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will also remain in level two, with cases having fallen in the past week.

However, Sturgeon warned: “It is worth stressing though that cases haven’t fallen in either area by as much as we would want to see.

“And there is still evidence that levels of infection are due to transmission in the community rather than solely being due to outbreaks in workplaces and care homes.

“We are therefore continuing to monitor the situation in both local authorities very carefully.

“I cannot rule out a move to level three for one or both of these areas in the weeks ahead.”

Changes will come into force from Friday at 6pm, with non-essential retail allowed to reopen from 6am to control the flow of customers.

Sturgeon also revealed that a further 33 people have died in Scotland after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Total confirmed cases of the virus has risen to 101,475 – a jump of 692 in the past 24 hours.

The official death toll in Scotland now stands at 3950, however weekly figures on suspected Covid-19 deaths recorded by National Records of Scotland suggest the most up-to-date total is at least 5634.

Of the new cases reported on Tuesday, 189 are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde region, 133 are in Lothian, 90 are in Lanarkshire, and 84 are in Ayrshire and Arran.

The remaining cases are spread across seven other health board areas.

According to management information reported by NHS boards across Scotland, 983 people are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – an increase of nine overnight. Out of those, 57 patients are in intensive care.

Sturgeon said the vaccination programme, which began on Tuesday morning, was the “beginning of the end” of the pandemic in Scotland and Scots should “allow ourselves a smile”.

She said: “Today – the day when the first people have been vaccinated against Covid – is a day of optimism for all of us.

“But it marks, we hope, the beginning of the end of the pandemic. The end is not quite with us yet.

“So all of us must continue to think about how we keep ourselves and each other safe in the meantime.”

Level three:

Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian.

Level two:

Angus, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, East Lothian, Falkirk and Inverclyde.

Level one:

Dumfries and Galloway, Highland, Moray, Orkney, Scottish Borders, Shetland and the Western Isles.