Stricter lockdown measures for Greater Glasgow likely to be extended

The First Minister has warned the stricter restrictions on indoor meetings imposed on most parts of the Greater Glasgow and Clyde healthboard area may need to remain in place for “a bit longer”.

Responding to a question from Radio Clyde News at her coronavirus briefing – Nicola Sturgeon said she did “not want to raise anybody's hopes” that the ban on people going into others' homes was about to be lifted.

The tougher restrictions were originally put in place in the Glasgow City Council area as well as West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire almost two weeks ago.

And Ms Sturgeon confirmed talks would take place later on Monday to review the situation in these areas.

But she warned the incubation period for coronavirus meant it could take a “three or four-week period” for such measures to have an impact on case numbers.

The First Minister said: “We will look at this later on and make judgments.''

But she stressed: “I don't want to raise anybody's hopes that these tighter restrictions are about to be lifted in the part of Greater Glasgow and Clyde that they apply, because the case numbers we have seen in recent days have still been significant.

“It may be that these restrictions need a bit longer to have the desired effect.”

Chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith said: “What is coming through from the data we have been charting, particularly over the last week, is that there may begin to be a slowing down in the rise of cases, but it is still too early to tell whether these measures are having a full effect yet.

“You have got to remember the incubation cycle for this virus is up to 14 days and therefore it can be quite a significant length of time before you actually see the effects of any intervention starting to play through.”

He said experts were still seeing the “strongest signal” that Covid-19 was being spread in “household and social settings”.

While the restrictions were initially applied to the three council areas, rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in west central Scotland mean they are now in place across four more local authorities, with them being extended into Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and most recently North and South Lanarkshire.

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