Coronavirus restrictions tightened in Scotland
The First Minister has outlined six changes to the rules.
A number of changes to lockdown restrictions in Scotland have been announced.
The First Minister says tougher measures are needed to slow the spread of COVID-19, with the variant now making up around 60% of new cases.
From Saturday 16th January, the following changes will take effect.
• Only retailers selling essential items will be allowed to offer click and collect services. This will include clothes and footwear, baby equipment, homeware and books. Customers should be offered staggered appointments to avoid queuing and won’t be allowed inside premises for collection.
• Customers will no longer be allowed to go inside to collect takeaway food or coffee. Any outlet wishing to offer takeaway will have to do so from a serving hatch or doorway.
• It will be against the law in all level 4 areas of Scotland to drink alcohol outdoors in public. This will mean buying a takeaway pint and drinking it outdoors will not be permitted.
• There will be statutory guidance to strengthen the obligation on employers to allow their staff to work from home whenever possible. If staff were working from home during the first lockdown, they should be working from home now.
• Guidance on work inside homes will be put into law. In level 4 areas work is only permitted within a private dwelling if it is essential for the upkeep, maintenance and functioning of the household.
• There will be an amendment to the regulation for the ‘Stay At Home’ message. It will make it clear that people must not leave or remain outside the home unless it is for an essential purpose.
Nicola Sturgeon also confirmed 79 more coronavirus related deaths were registered in the past 24 hours along with 1,949 new cases. The death toll of people with confirmed or suspected coronavirus has now risen above 7,000.
Ms Sturgeon urged Scots to adhere to the spirit, not just the letter, of the lockdown law, saying: “Don't think in terms of the maximum interactions you can have without breaking the rules.
“Think instead about how you minimise your interactions to the bare essentials to remove as many opportunities as possible for the virus to spread.
“In everything you do, assume that the virus is there with you - that either you have it or any person you are in contact with has it - and act in a way that prevents it passing between you.
“All of this means staying at home except for genuinely essential purposes - including working from home whenever possible.
“Except for essential purposes, do not have people from other households in your house and do not go into theirs.''
Giving a further update on the daily coronavirus statistics, she said a total of 155,372 people have tested positive in Scotland since the start of the pandemic.
There are 1,794 people in hospital confirmed to have Covid-19, up 77 in 24 hours. Of these patients, 134 are in intensive care - a rise of one in the same period.
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