Nicola Sturgeon announces Glasgow lockdown restrictions to be eased from midnight Friday

First minister outlines ‘slight slowing down’ for restrictions in other areas of Scotland’s central belt

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Covid restrictions in Glasgow City will be eased from midnight on Friday, but outlined that other areas of Scotland’s central belt will see a “pause” in measures being relaxed.

Due to a recent rise in infections, Glasgow is the only part of the country remaining under Level 3 restrictions, prohibiting non-essential travel out of the area, alongside greater restrictions on socialising, hospitality and businesses.

From Saturday morning, Glaswegians, however, will be able to travel outside the area as the city moves down to Level 2 measures.

They will also be able to meet people socially in groups of up to six people from three households indoors – including overnight stays – and also meet inside restaurants, cafés and pubs.

But in an update to Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon stressed that the government must “err on the side of caution”, as she outlined a “slight slowing down” of the planned easing of restrictions for other areas.

With the country facing a “delicate and fragile point” in the pandemic — the new variant now accounts for over half of new daily cases — the first minister said the vast majority of Scotland’s central belt will remain in Level 2.

It had been the plan for much of Scotland to move down to Level 1 — allowing greater freedoms — by next week.

The first minister said that Edinburgh and Midlothian, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North, South and East Ayrshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire and Stirling did not meet the criteria to see restrictions ease, however.

“It also our judgement with case numbers as high as they are in these areas, and with a substantial proportion of adults not yet double dosed, it is safer and more likely to protect our progress overall if we hold these areas in Level 2 for a further period,” she said.

She told MSPs there could even be an argument to move these areas in into Level 3 restrictions, given the raw figures, but the impact of the vaccination programme has meant this would not be needed.

“However, it is important to stress that this is a pause, not a step backwards,” the first minister insisted. “And Level 2 is not lockdown. It does not have an impact on opening hours of pubs and restaurants and the numbers than can attend certain events.”

She added: “And taking a cautious approach now — while more people get fully vaccinated — gives us the best chance of staying on the right track overall.”