First Minister defends 'difficult' decision on new local lockdown

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted doing nothing was “not an option” as she defended the decision to impose local lockdown restrictions on Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire.

People living in those local authority areas have been told not to host other people in their homes, or visit other people’s homes.

The new measures - which have been put in place for the next two weeks - also mean that indoor visits to hospitals and care homes will now be limited to “essential visits”.

The First Minister, who is also the the MSP for Glasgow Southside, said on Twitter she understands that people in the area are “frustrated”, but urged them to see the move as a “wake-up call”.

Speaking during First Minister's questions in the Scottish Parliament, she said that “given the toll we know Covid can take, doing nothing was not an option”.

Ms Sturgeon said the restrictions had “not been put in place lightly'', adding they were “necessary and, we believe, proportionate”.

“We hope they will allow the spread to be contained at an early stage without the need for further measures later.

“They apply only in these three council areas right now, but I think they should be a wake-up call for all of us. If we let it, this virus will spread rapidly.

“The good news, though: if we all stick to some basic rules and continue to make some sacrifices, we can stop it.”

She said the data so far “suggests that transmission in the West of Scotland is happening not exclusively, but mainly in people's homes”.

The new restrictions, which came into place from midnight on Tuesday, will be reviewed every seven days.

They were introduced after the latest daily figures showed 86 new positive coronavirus cases were recorded in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

On Wednesday, the death of one further person who had tested positive for Covid-19 was announced, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,495.

But the National Records of Scotland - which announces weekly figures of the number of people who have died with confirmed or suspected coronavirus - said the death toll now stands at 4,228, with six additional cases in the week up until August 30.

While across Scotland the number of positive cases of coronavirus is 9.2 per 100,000 people, in Glasgow it stands at 21.8, in East Renfrewshire it is 18.8, and in West Dunbartonshire it rises to 32.6 per 100,000.

Hear all the latest news from across the North of Scotland on MFR. Listen on FM, via our Rayo app, DAB, or smart speaker.