Decision to be made on level four areas
Nicola Sturgeon will make the announcement in Holyrood at 2.20pm.
Last updated 17th Nov 2020
The Scottish Cabinet's meeting to take the final decision on whether parts of the west of Scotland could move into Level 4 restrictions later this week.
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned a "limited period'' of the strictest measures - moving from Level 3 to Level 4 - could allow an easing around Christmas. On Monday, Ms Sturgeon said at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing that rates in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire health board areas are "stubbornly high''.
She said the prevalence of the virus is causing concern and could mean regional hospital and intensive care services may not be able to cope as winter continues.
"Stubbornly high prevalence means that we might have less flexibility to offer some limited and careful easing of restrictions over the Christmas period which we are very keen to do,'' she said.
"Moving to Level 4 restrictions for a limited period in some areas, while not a decision we would ever take lightly because of the wider economic and social impact, would help us to address both of these concerns.''
Under the toughest restrictions, non-essential shops will be closed, along with bars, restaurants, hairdressers and visitor attractions.
Schools will remain open, however, with the First Minister saying on Monday it is her "objective and intention'' to ensure they do not close.
The First Minister also told the briefing that restrictions in at least one local authority area will be eased, although she did not say where.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie urged the First Minister to put the decision before Holyrood in a full debate, with MSPs then able to vote on the move before it is put in place on Friday.
He said: "Level 4 is the equivalent of a lockdown with the closure of most of the High Street.
"It is therefore only right that if such a major change is to be implemented it must have the explicit support of the Scottish Parliament.
"That is important as we need full transparency on the reasons for the change to so many people's lives.''
Business owners have expressed concern that the news comes during a crucial time for their company.
Anna Stewart, owner of Vanilla Salon in Rutherglen, said: "I really don't think that the right industries are being targeted when it comes to a blanket lockdown.
"It's really disheartening to see that, no disrespect, but stores like B&M, B&Q, M&S clothing etc can all stay open.
"We're heading for a busy December, things are starting to look good, starting to recuperate some of that lost income that we've had this year, and this news just comes as a massive blow to that."
Professor Linda Bauld from University of Edinburgh said: "My hope is that we really just do it for a two week period which I think is enough to see an additional reduction in figures - we can that around the world from the kinds of restrictions that are being applied.
"The key thing is we need to look ahead and ask 'well what would happen a few weeks from now if we couldn't get numbers even lower in the west of Scotland from where they currently are?'
"That would mean that for the Christmas period for example, we couldn't lessen restrictions so people might be able to meet indoors with people that they care about.
"My own view is much of the risk is still within households and that suggests we need to do more to get the message across - not only about not going into other people's homes but also adherence with self-isolation."
However there are claims it will come at a cost if retail stores are closed for a period of time.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
"We've calculated that a Scotland-wide lockdown, closing down non-essential shops, would cost £200m a week - so it's a proportion of that for those areas that would be missed out by retailers unable to make sales.
"Closing shops should be a last resort - the scientific evidence is evident that shutting shops is going to do very little to stop the spread of Covid, but we absolutely know it could have a huge economic impact."
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