Nicola Sturgeon has today announced that the Scottish Government is not planning another full lockdown.
The First Minister emphasised that a final decision had yet to be made but confirmed that full details would be laid out in parliament tomorrow.
However, Ms Sturgeon did stress that she wanted to be as “frank and open” as possible and treat the public as “grown ups”.
While the First Minister could not yet share full details of potential additional restrictions to be announced tomorrow, she did share what restrictions had been ruled out.
Here are the six measures Nicola Sturgeon confirmed would not be enforced.
1. No return to lockdown
The First Minister put rumours to bed when she announced that the Scottish Government would not be proposing another lockdown at this stage, not even on a temporary basis.
There had been speculation that a circuit breaker lockdown could be introduced over the October school holidays, but Ms Sturgeon has denied this is the case.
2. No ‘stay at home’ mandate
Ms Sturgeon said that the Scottish Government would not be asking the public to stay inside their own homes as they did in March.
The Scottish government replaced its "stay at home" message with "stay safe" when the country entered the second phase of its lockdown easing plan in June.
3. No nationwide travel ban
The First Minister said that restrictions on travel may sometimes be an option or even necessary for hotspot areas of Covid-19.
However, she revealed there were no plans for blanket travel restrictions on the whole of the country.
She added that she has asked people to “think carefully” about non essential travel, especially overseas.
4. No ‘shut down’ of the economy
The First Minister reassured the public that the Scottish Government was “not about to shut down the entire economy.”
However, it is still unclear what options are still being considered that may affect the hospitality sector and other aspects of the economy.
5. NHS to remain open for “non-Covid conditions”
Ms Sturgeon said: “We’re not about to halt the remobilisation of the NHS.
"It is vital that our national health service is there for non-Covid conditions as well as there for anything that we have to deal with in relation to Covid.”
6. No school closures
She added: “Apart from the October holidays, which were already planned, we are not proposing to close schools, either wholly or even partially.”
“I hope all of that gives some people reassurance.”
What restrictions are being considered?
However, The First Minister did say that the Scottish Government was considering some additional “targeted steps” for over the next couple of weeks.
These would come into force in addition to the restrictions on household mixing currently in place, and are expected to be announced tomorrow in Ms Sturgeon’s address to parliament.
She said the restrictions would be crucial for stemming the spread and giving time to strengthen the country’s “overall resilience”, including testing.
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