Nicola Sturgeon has said talk of “Freedom Day” — as it has been dubbed in England — was “not sensible” given the high daily numbers of new coronavirus infections.
The First Minister has urged people to keep taking precautions against Covid and said that the situation must be eased up "gradually".
Scotland will move to Level 0 of its coronavirus restrictions on Monday, meaning some restrictions on the numbers of people who can meet up indoors and outdoors will remain in place.
People have also been urged to continue to wear facemasks and to stick to social distancing rules.
READ MORE: Scottish Government confirms a further 1,735 new cases
However, all restrictions in England are due to come to an end tomorrow, with the wearing of masks left to people's own discretion with the legan requirement coming to an end.
Ms Sturgeon and Mr Johnson are far apart on Covid strategy
After new figures from the Scottish Government showed that there had been 1735 new Covid cases recorded in 24 hours, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “Cases in (Scotland) are falling, but still too high. To talk of tomorrow as ‘freedom day’ (England only remember) is not sensible IMO, given current situation.
“Vaccines going well and do offer route through – but as we vaccinate, we must ease up gradually.”
She added: ”If you live in or visiting (Scotland) please abide by remaining safety measures.
“Stick to group limits, keep 1m distance in public places, wear face masks, wash hands etc.
“While we vaccinate, these measures help keep us safe. More info available at gov.scot.”
1/ As this chart shows, cases in 🏴 are falling, but still too high. To talk of tomorrow as ‘freedom day’ (🏴 only remember) is not sensible IMO, given current situation. Vaccines going well and do offer route through - but as we vaccinate, we must ease up gradually…/ pic.twitter.com/ZCo4V8T40x
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 18, 2021
A total of 2,390,353 people in Scotland have been tested for coronavirus since the start of the outbreak, with the number confirmed as positive at 329,387.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures suggest around one in 90 people in Scotland are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to July 10.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak u-turn on self-isolation
The figure is up from one in 100 in the previous week and the highest level since the ONS infection survey began in Scotland at the end of October.
Overall, 3,976,022 people have received the first dose of the vaccination and 2,966,054 have had their second dose.
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