Scotland should not lift lockdown restrictions yet, according to Professor Jason Leitch, the national clinical director.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Leitch said the measures would be phased out “gently and safely”, but insisted that the country was “not there yet”.

It comes after the First Minister told reporters yesterday that there were “early optimistic signs” that the nationwide lockdown was working.

People across the UK have been confined to their homes with only a handful of exceptions since late March.

But Professor Leitch, who is closely involved in the Scottish government’s efforts to manage the crisis, said it was “trying at all costs” to avoid a “doomsday scenario”.

Professor Leitch referred to Japan, where certain regions that had lifted restrictions after a fall in cases saw a sudden resurgence in infections.

He suggested that pieces of the lockdown could be ended at different times.

“We’ve got to make choices about which pieces of the puzzle can go back,” he said, “but we are not there yet.”

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Professor Jason Leitch: Scotland should avoid ‘doomsday scenario’ at all costs

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