Nicola Sturgeon Covid update RECAP: First Minister to address Scotland's lockdown restrictions as stricter Portugal travel rules come into force
Follow along here for all of the updates throughout the day.
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Nicola Sturgeon Covid update RECAP: First Minister to address Scotland’s lockdown restrictions as stricter Portugal travel rules come into force
Key Events
- All travellers returning from Portugal will have to isolate for 10 days
- Calls to speed up vaccination programme in Scotland as all over 25’s in England and all adults in Wales are invited to apply for their vaccines
FM calls question from Alexander Cole Hamilton ‘complete nonsense’ and warns against statements that pit areas of the country against each other.
Lothian local instance management team will make decisions on how to deal with high cases in the Capital.
FM: “I don’t mandate to local public health inspectors”
FM: Currently undertaking a general review on physical distancing and parl will be updated when review complete.
FM: There is no minister in the government who is standing in the way (of day services to support unpaid carers) ... apart from the clinical decisions and the need for precaution.
FM: We should make sure vaccine supplies are spread equally.
FM: Support efforts to ramp up production of vaccinations in as many parts of the world as possible.
FM again on soft play: We have to take decisions based on our own clinical advise.
Understands there will be perceived inconsistencies.
FM on soft play: Clinical advice that indoor environment coupled with specific mixing of soft play, is that it continues to be a risk.
FM responds to Douglas Ross: “None of this is easy”
Already doing the planning to children over 12 should JCVI approve it.
“As we face rising cases again, and as we are still learning about the efficacy of the virus...rising cases could lead to...hospitalisation and death.”
It would be “utterly irresponsible” to deny the reality that the rise in cases could lead to potential rise in hospitalisations.
Douglas Ross: Now is a chance to pause and reflect on the success of the vaccination programme.
He thanks volunteers and medical staff involved in the roll out.
FM: In summery, position still fragile and still has potential to put pressure on health service.
“On the up side...the vaccines do appear to be doing their jobs and that should give us all firm ground for optimism.”
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