Scots urged to stick to rules, despite 'freedom day' in England

People in Scotland have been reminded there is no “abandoning of restrictions” in the country on Monday – despite England having removed most of its legal measures.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Scots to stick to limits on gathering and the wearing of face masks, on the day that Scotland moves to level zero.

Meanwhile south of the border, social distancing limits have been largely ended, whilst businesses such as nightclubs were able to open their doors again from midnight.

It comes despite a rise in coronavirus cases in the UK, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak currently in quarantine, having been in contact with health secretary Sajid Javid who tested positive for the virus.

Boris Johnson is currently self-isolating. STV News

The pair had originally planned to take daily tests rather than self-isolate, but U-turned to say they would instead quarantine, having faced a public backlash.

In Scotland, the First Minister has said she intends to move Scotland beyond level zero on August 9, but that will be subject to a review based on the latest data.

Latest figures showed that there were 1735 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Scotland, with 46 people in intensive care and 511 in hospital.

Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf earlier hailed the “incredible work” of everyone involved in the vaccination programme, with all adults in the country expected to have had their second jab by September 12.

Public health expert Linda Bauld at the weekend also indicated that reimposing coronavirus restrictions would not be “off the table”.

“Policymakers haven’t ruled anything out and even at UK level from the chief medical officer etc, we’ve definitely heard an indication that we shouldn’t regard restrictions being reimposed as being off the table,” Professor Bauld said.

“That would be the case in Scotland too but I think the likely outcome is that if we see a rise with this easing, then that August 9 date will be paused and that’s a significant date because most legal restrictions would be removed.”