Children under 12 no longer forced to social distance, Nicola Sturgeon announces

The decision was made following the publication of scientific advice about the two-metre social distancing rule.

Social distancing signs outside New Look at Ford Kinaird Retail Park, in Edinburgh.

Children who are 11-years-old or younger will no longer have to social distance from other children or adults, the Scottish Government announced today (July 2).

The news comes following Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that the two-metre social distancing rule will stay in place across Scotland unless there are mitigations in place in hospitality businesses or shops such as pubs, restaurants and cafes.

Announcing the results of review into the scientific advice around the two-metre rule, the First Minister said that the advice “made clear” that the science has not changed.

However, she announced that retail, hospitality and public transport will be able to reduce the two-metre rule to one metre, if there are mitigation measures in place, putting Scotland broadly in line with the guidance in England.

This would only be able to happen from the planned introduction of phase three from July 10, with beer gardens opening on July 6 having to stick to the two-metre rule.

Among the measures included the relaxation of restrictions around young people, a decision made, the First Minister said, to help them enjoy the summer holidays.

She said children under the age of 11 will no longer be forced to socially distance themselves from other children or adults, but the number of overall household contacts in one day would remain the same – no more than eight people and no more than two other households at a time – and adults will be required to follow social distancing.

The First Minister said: "This will enable you to play more normally with friends, which I hope you will enjoy. I’m sure this move will also be appreciated by your parents and carers.”

Ms Sturgeon added that young people aged between 12 and 17 would still have to social distance, but would no longer be restricted by the number of households they could meet in a day.

Instead, they will be allowed to meet up to eight people from no more than three households at any one time, with no limit to the number of meetings per day.

The First Minister said: “That means that you can meet different groups of friends at different times of day. And it also means that you won’t be prevented from meeting your friends, just because your parents or carers or your brother or sister happen to be meeting their friends.

“These changes are careful but important steps that I hope will make life easier and a little bit more fun for children and young people. I also hope to confirm at that stage that organised outdoor contact sports for children can resume from 13 July.

“However, I hope that these changes do allow children a bit more freedom in meeting up with friends, and allow you to make a bit more of your holidays, even if, as will probably be the case in Scotland, it is raining for much of the time.”

An update on how many adults can meet at any one time will be given next week, Ms Sturgeon added.

The First Minister also outlined that the overall guidance for social distancing will not fundamentally change, but said that work was ongoing at looking at how retail, hospitality and public transport sectors could reduce the distance to one metre.

She said mitigations such as perspex screens between seating areas in restaurants, clear signage, reduced noise measures and the requirement to take personal details including names and addresses are likely to be required to reduce the two-metre rule inside a business.

Full guidance will be made available by next week for businesses, ahead of the expected move to phase three of lockdown easing.

Ms Sturgeon said: “This advice makes clear that the science on physical distancing has not changed. As the distance between people decreases, the risk of transmitting Covid 19 increases.

“To quote the advice directly - ‘there is increased risk somewhere between 2 and 10 fold in reducing from 2 metres to 1 metre’.

“However, it also notes that as the number of infected individuals falls, there is less chance of any of us coming into contact with someone who has the virus, and so absolute risk is lower. It also notes that risk can be mitigated through other measures.

“Overall, the Advisory Group concludes that ‘it is ultimately a matter of policy as to what physical distance is tolerated in different environments’.”

The First Minister added that two-metre distancing would also remain the benchmark for contact tracers, meaning those who keep to a two-metre or more distance will be unlikely to be asked to self-isolate.

Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said the approach was “reasonable” and called for more detail.

He said: “This is a reasonable approach which will maintain public health while easing the restrictions that would have made it impossible for many hospitality and retail businesses to operate.

“While no-one wants to see the need for social distancing, or indeed other mitigations like face coverings, to last longer than necessary, we believe the measures announced today strike a proportionate balance.

“Businesses now need as much detail as possible on how this will work, and urgently.

“The SNP’s record on testing also remains woeful – and a proper test and trace system is essential to safely opening up the economy. Today’s news moves us further out of lockdown, but the SNP still need to urgently improve testing.”

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