HOUSE gatherings to watch the Euro 2020 championship is Scotland’s biggest risk in the coming weeks, an expert has warned.

Professor Linda Bauld warned fans against gathering inside to watch the championships, urging fans to take note of the “fragile” situation.

She told the Scotsman: “I am very concerned about the next four weeks.

“The main risk is more people from different households mixing indoors in enclosed spaces, that's the key thing.

“I can't emphasise enough that this virus is airborne. If you're standing in a room, even a little bit away from somebody else, with poor ventilation, and you've got one infected person in the room, if you're in there for a while having a few drinks etc, it's going to pass around the room just like second-hand smoke.”

The Herald:

Her comments come as the R number in Scotland – the average number of people someone with Covid passes the virus on to – rose again to between 1.2 and 1.4.

She told the paper that she is “pretty confident” that the easing of lockdown of June 28, in which the initial plan was to have all of Scotland move to Level 0, will not take place.

She added: “I don't think we're going to see another national lockdown quickly – or hopefully ever” but did tell the paper that Scotland may see a return to tougher local restrictions at some point.

“I think the next little while is a concern. The good weather will help, but I think we're at quite a fragile situation,” she said.

The health expert, who picked up an OBE during the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours, said those likely gathering indoors may be younger and therefore less likely to have had the vaccine.

“That means that they can develop the disease, and if many of them are infected then some of them may end up in hospital, which we don't want,” she said.

“Secondly they may develop long Covid, which is looking like it's around one in ten people, and that can have debilitating implications for their health going forward.

“Thirdly if they're carrying it and then moving around with other family members who have already had the vaccine, but are not 100 per cent protected – remember we are seeing breakthrough cases in a small number of older people – then they're putting them at risk, although clearly far less risk than used to be the case in the past.”