Central belt pubs and restaurants told to close in new coronavirus restrictions

Pubs, restaurants and cafes in most of Scotland are being barred from selling alcohol indoors for more than two weeks as part of efforts to curb Covid-19, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

Five health board areas - Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire & Arran, Lothian, and Forth Valley - face stricter restrictions, with pubs and licenced cafes to shut to all but takeaway customers for the same period.

The measures come into force at 6pm on Friday for 16 days until October 25th and are as follows.

• All licensed premises - with the exception of hotels for residents – need to close indoors and outdoors. Takeaways still allowed. Cafes which don’t have an alcohol license will be able to stay open until 6pm to support social isolation.

• Snooker and pool halls, indoor bowling alleys, casinos and bingo halls will close for two weeks from 10th October.

• Contact sports for people aged 18 and over will be suspended for the next two weeks – with an exception for professional sports.

• Indoor group exercise activities will not be allowed – although the current rules will remain in place for under 18s. Gyms can remain open for individual exercise.

• Outdoor live events will not be permitted for the next two weeks.

• People should avoid public transport unless it is absolutely necessary – for example for going to school or to work, if home working is not an option.

Scotland's First Minister revealed the “difficult but important temporary measures'' aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus in a statement at the Scottish Parliament.

She said the prevalence of the virus across Scotland is currently around 13% of its March peak, but the case number is estimated to be growing by 7% each day.

Ms Sturgeon warned that without taking action, the country risks “returning to the peak level of infection by the end of the month.”

The new restrictions will not apply for weddings which are already booked and funerals.

She said the inevitable risk of transmitting the virus in indoor environments where different households and age groups can mix “can be increased, in some hospitality premises.”

Ms Sturgeon apologised for the “significant impact on many premises'' the restrictions will have and announced a £40 million fund to help affected businesses.

The First Minister stressed the changes do not amount to a new lockdown such as that imposed in March and schools will remain open, with no requirement for people to stay inside their homes.

Scotland recorded 1,054 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, according to figures published shortly before Ms Sturgeon's parliamentary statement.

The record high figure was published by the Scottish Government from Health Protection Scotland data.

One further death of a patient within 28 days of first testing positive for the virus was registered in the past 24 hours, taking this total to 2,533.

The new cases represent 13.0% of newly-tested individuals, down from 13.2% on Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 410 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 195 in Lanarkshire and 190 in Lothian.

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