Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader hopes Grampian will be rated 'Level 1' in Covid restrictions tiers
Douglas Lumsden hopes the NHS Grampian health board area will fall into the 'medium' ranking - which allows six people from two households to meet indoors
Last updated 26th Oct 2020
We will find out this week what level each area of the country will fall into when Scotland moves into tier based Covid restrictions on the 2nd of November.
We are also likely to hear from The First Minister Nicola Strugeon, and the Scottish Government, further details about these levels - and support offered to business and people impacted by any restrictions.
This system will help to target the areas where infections are at a more dangerous level, as opposed to the cover-all approach used at the moment, where the entire country has the same guidelines applied.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Douglas Lumsden has been outspoken in the past to what he branded 'Central belt bias' from Holyrood.
Councillor Lumsden believed Grampian, and other areas of the nation, were facing harsher restrictions than required in those individual areas, due to the situation centrally."
Ahead of the week, Lumsden is clear on where he hopes Aberdeen - and the rest of the NHS Grampian health board - will land.
He said:
"I'd be hoping that Aberdeen would fall into level one - the medium category"
"That means six people from two households can meet indoors"
The system begins at level zero, so one would be the second closest to normality.
Level One can be likened to what we experienced at the end of September. Hospitality businesses would be allowed to open, and serve alcohol, but likely with a curfew.
Weddings and 'life events' would be restricted to a maximum of 20 people.
Indoor contact sports for adults would still not be permitted though, neither would outdoor standing events.
Councillor Lumsden is concerned however about some of what he calls 'missing details'.
He said:
"We have the tiers announced, but there is still a lot of details missing from that announcement - we don't know what level Aberdeen would fall into."
"Another key piece of information that's missing, is what level of support is going to be available for businesses affected by those different levels."
Stay tuned to Northsound throughout the week, and key an eye on our social media and website for all the news on the incoming system as we get it.