Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon announces that all restrictions will remain in place until at least the middle of February

Lockdown restrictions - including the strict stay at home requirement - will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February says the First Minister.

Nicola Sturgeon addressed Parliament this afternoon and said that due to the rising pressure the NHS is under, “we cannot afford” to lift restrictions and risk interacting more.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The pressure the NHS is facing right now is real and severe and it is, of course, having a significant consequential impact on non Covid elective care.

“The number of new cases in the last couple of weeks also means that the pressure is almost certain to rise for a further period yet."

Nicola Sturgeon announces that all restrictions will remain in place until at least the middle of February

She continued to say that for those reasons, the Cabinet decided this morning to maintain the current restrictions across the country.

She said: “That means that the lockdown restrictions - including the strict stay at home requirement - will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February.”

Cabinet will review the situation again on February 2.

Ms Sturgeon went on to say that in light of the recent increase in case numbers on the isle of Barra, the Cabinet has decided to move the area from level 3 to level 4 at midnight tonight.

She said: “As of yesterday, there had been 39 confirmed positive cases and more than 10 percent of Barra’s population had been required to self isolate.

"There is a significant concern that without additional measures, the outbreak could spread more widely across the Western Isles.

"For these reasons, the National Incident Management Team has recommended and the Cabinet - in consultation with the local authority and local health board – has decided that Barra and Vatersay, which is connected to Barra by causeway, should move from level 3 to level 4 at midnight tonight.”

This means that the same lockdown restrictions that are already in place on mainland Scotland will apply there too.

This includes the requirement to stay at home except for essential purposes.

At this stage, the increase in restrictions only applies to Barra and Vatersay and not to the Western Isles more generally.

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