Local lockdown restrictions in Aberdeen have been partially lifted, bringing the city broadly in line with guidance for the rest of Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out the timeline for the lifting of restrictions following a SGoR (Scottish Government Resilience) meeting on Sunday 23 August.

Here’s everything you need to know - including when bars and restaurants will reopen in the city.

Restaurants and pubs will reopen on Wednesday 26 August

When were restrictions lifted?

A number of lockdown restrictions were lifted at midnight on 23 August in Aberdeen.

What is the latest guidance?

As of Monday 24 August, the five mile travel limit has been lifted in Aberdeen, along with restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Limitations on hospital and care home visits have also been eased, and non-hospitality businesses can now reopen.

Hospitality businesses, including restaurants, pubs, casinos, and other such premises, will be permitted to reopen again from Wednesday 26 August. However, the reopening of these venues will be subject to environmental health checks.

Hospitality business owners are being urged to contact Aberdeen City Council if they have not already had an environmental health check.

Pubs stay shut as Aberdeen eases out of local lockdown

Was the local lockdown effective?

The First Minister called the reintroduction of lockdown restriction in the city “effective in beating back the virus”, and praised the level of compliance in the city.

Restrictions were first reimposed on the Aberdeen City Council area on 5 August, after an outbreak emerged that was linked to pubs.

Latest figures show a total of 427 coronavirus cases have been identified in the NHS Grampian area since 26 July.

Of these cases, 259 are associated with the same cluster that was linked to Aberdeen pubs. A total of 1,258 contacts have now been identified from those cases.

Speaking at a briefing on 24 August, Ms Sturgeon said of the 66 people in Scotland who tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours, provisional figures indicate that just five of these were in the Grampian health board area.

The First Minister said, “I am grateful to people in Aberdeen - the local authority and health board, local businesses, and everyone who lives there - for complying so well with the rules that were put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“In particular, I am grateful for the understanding of the businesses that were required to close in order to help beat the virus.

“It’s due to the commitment of people in the city, as well as world-class contact tracing, that means we are now able to lift some of these measures from Monday (24 August) and then again from Wednesday (26 August), but it is vitally important that everyone follows the FACTS rules in order to prevent an outbreak of this scale occurring again.

“That way we can move forward and get our economy, our society and our lives generally back to as much normality as possible.”

When will bars and restaurants open in Aberdeen? Date remaining local lockdown restrictions will be lifted