Nicola Sturgeon agreed to remove remaining Covid restrictions in order to fight the Omicron variant. She also admitted that the country was currently on the ‘downwardslope’ of infection.
Restaurants and bars will not be permitted to sit at tables anymore starting next Monday 24th January.
She will allow nightclubs to reopen once she removes all restrictions that have existed since the Christmas season. There are no plans to extend Covid’s passport program.
In addition, indoor event attendees will no longer be restricted – this is a change that was made yesterday.
However baseline coronavirus measures in place before the Omicron wave will remain, including masks are still legally required indoors and on public transport.
In addition, the First Minister stated that the Scottish Government will not expand its vaccine certification scheme to new areas. This was in response to the Tories’ demand for it to be scrapped.
Addressing the Scottish Parliament today, Ms Sturgeon said statistics showed a ‘significant fall’ in new cases, though the NHS remained under ‘acute pressure’.
She explained that after taking all the information into account and triangulating various data sources, we can say with confidence that Omicron was responsible for the spike in Omicron cases in the first week in January. We are currently on the decline of Omicron cases.
Today, Ms Sturgeon addressed the Scottish Parliament. She stated that statistics had shown a significant fall in the number of new cases but the NHS was still under severe pressure.
Scottish Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane
Ms Sturgeon added: ‘From Monday we will also lift the guidance asking people to stick to a three-household limit on indoor gatherings.
“However it is vital to emphasize this fact: even though the current situation has improved, Covid infections are still prevalent in the community. It would be prudent for us all to avoid social contact at this point in order to reduce our risk of contracting the virus.
Elle continued, “We will continue asking people to work at home when possible at this stage. Employers should facilitate this.”
“However we will still engage with the business to discuss a return from a more holistic approach at February’s start.
Scotland had another 31 deaths from coronavirus, and there were 7,752 cases of the virus infected people.
The latest figures were confirmed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in a statement to Holyrood.
MSPs were informed that Monday’s PCR results and lateral flow tests confirmed the cases.
This latest death brings the number of coronavirus-infected people to 10,0093 across Scotland.
In contrast, the population in hospital is down 21 percent to 1,546, with 59 patients being admitted to intensive care. That’s an increase of one.
According to Ms Sturgeon, this total also includes 17 patients who were in ICU longer than 28 days.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘The First Minister’s statement did begin a sea change in the government’s policy, starting to shift from a rules-based approach more towards trusting the Scottish public, as we were pushing for.
“Yesterday, we demanded an end to all Covid restrictions. The data proves that we have passed the Omicron peak.
“Most of the demands we made have been fulfilled, but the government insisted on maintaining some Covid restrictions beyond what was necessary to ensure the safety and security of the public.