NICOLA Sturgeon has been urged to confirm she will follow through with removing all remaining Covid-19 restrictions despite a soaring number of positive cases.
The First Minister will update MSPs on the pandemic at Holyrood on Tuesday and is set to confirm whether her proposed timetable to do away with all remaining rules by next Monday remains on track.
But Scotland has recorded a soaring number of positive cases while the number of people admitted to hospital with the virus is now higher than the Omicron peak in January.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Scotland's Covid infection rates are the highest since estimates began - with the country seen levels rise for six weeks in a row.
One in 18 people in Scotland are estimated to have had the virus in the week to March 5, or with 299,900.
On Friday, Ms Sturgeon said the surge in cases and hospital admissions “is a reminder that Covid hasn’t gone away”.
She added: “Vaccines are protecting most of us from worst impacts of the virus - but many do still end up in hospital. Please continue to take sensible precautions, like wearing a mask.”
From Monday March 21, the Scottish Government is set to remove all remaining legal rules and restrictions including the wearing of face coverings.
Scotland's chief medical officer has suggested that ministers will be advised to take a “cautious approach” to lifting the remaining coronavirus restrictions in Scotland.
READ MORE: Covid Scotland: Number in hospital up 88 per cent to exceed January peak
But the Scottish Conservatives have warned the SNP Government not to backtrack on the commitment, despite the rise in cases and hospital admissions.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: “The First Minister must not use the rise in infection rates as an excuse to kick the can further down the road. The last remaining Covid restrictions must end, as planned, next Monday.
“Of course, we must all remain vigilant and use common sense because Covid has not gone away – but the First Minister accepted last month that we have to learn to live with it.”
He added: “Scotland is already behind other parts of the UK, and we would expect to see infection rates increase in the short term as restrictions ease. I think that’s what we’re seeing at the moment, following the removal of some curbs last month, including the need for masks to be worn in classrooms.
“But the game-changer has been the success of the vaccine programme, which has had a huge impact in reducing the number of people becoming seriously ill with Covid.
“Businesses in Scotland have suffered hugely over the last two years – not least with the First Minister’s severe restrictions imposed in the wake of the Omicron wave – and they, and the Scottish public, deserve a return to normality.
“The Scottish people have acted with common sense throughout the pandemic and the public health strategy from now on must focus on personal responsibility, rather than government-imposed blanket restrictions.”
Labour has called for more focus to be placed on the Test and Protect system and ensuring the NHS can full recovery from the pandemic.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “The continued progress towards some form of normality is to be welcomed after Scotland being under restrictions for so long. “But while this progress is welcome, it is clear that we are not out of the woods yet.
“Covid cases are increasing and are stubbornly high and our NHS remains under extreme pressure.”
READ MORE: Covid Scotland: ONS data shows infection levels highest on record
She added: “For too long, the SNP Government has turned its back on staff and patients as our NHS remains in crisis. This cannot continue.
“We need Test and Protect to continue to operate; testing to remain free and for anti-virals to quickly reach those who are immuno-suppressed in the coming months.
“Urgent action also needs to be taken to treat those with long Covid as little has been done to resource the NHS to cope with the number of people affected. “The SNP Government must do the right thing and ensure Scotland’s NHS is properly supported as we emerge from restrictions.
“Failure to support our NHS risks a public health perfect storm – the SNP must act now.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, has called for a strategy to be set out to bring the virus back to lower levels.
He said: “With Covid rates in Scotland now significantly higher than other parts of the UK, we need a bit of humility from the First Minister and a clear plan of action.
“Huge numbers of people are not uploading their positive test results to the contact tracing app. The government should kick off a new public information campaign to stress the importance of these measures and encouraging people to act.”
Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “Rates are soaring in schools so the First Minister should commit to air filters in every classroom to keep pupils and teachers safe.
“Finally, the domestic vaccine passport app should be scrapped entirely. All it has done is breed false confidence when vaccinated people can freely spread the virus. The focus needs to be on encouraging people to keep testing with free lateral flow tests.”
Chief medical officer, Professor Sir Gregor Smith, said he is “keeping a close eye on” rising infection levels and hospital cases.
However, he said there is some early evidence the hospital admission rate is beginning to “top out”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Monday, Sir Gregor said data shows some older people are beginning to adapt their behaviour by reducing their contacts slightly, while the use of face masks is also up.
Asked what advice he would give to ministers, he said: “I think that a cautious approach at this point in time is probably the right approach, and we’re already seeing the public adopting those additional protections.”
Sir Gregor said: “We’ve been keeping a close eye on these for the last three weeks, and clearly when you see cases begin to increase like this it does give you a little bit of concern.”
Hospital occupancy began to rise around February 14, he said.
He added: “We’re seeing more older population becoming impacted on this occasion, and that’s leading to some longer lengths of stay, which is driving occupancy up as well.”
Sir Gregor said there are “some hopeful signs” the hospital admission rate “has begun to kind of top out just a little bit over the course of the latter end of last week”.
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