Bars and restaurants in Lanarkshire will have to close by 10pm from Friday, after the First Minister announced a raft of changes aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon also announced a national ban on visiting other people’s homes – extending the restriction that has been in place in the west of Scotland to the rest of the country.
On the pub curfew, the First Minister said: “We will introduce a strict nationwide curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants. From Friday, pubs, bars and restaurants will be required to close by 10pm.
“Further restrictions, including possible closure will be unavoidable locally or nationally if the rules within pubs and restaurants on hygiene, face coverings, table service, maximum numbers in groups and the distance between them are not fully complied with.”
On the nationwide restrictions that apply to visiting homes, Ms Sturgeon said: “A big proportion of new cases come from social interactions between different household sin our homes.
“It is much more difficult to maintain physical distancing and have, for example ventilation, inside our own homes.
“We also know that when the virus infects one person in a household it is highly likely to affect others in the same household It will also infect people visiting that household who will in turn take it back to their household
“Therefore difficult though this is, any serious effort to reduce the R-number below one, which must be our objective, must take account of this key driver of transmission and it must seek to break that driver of transmission.
“So after careful consideration we have decided that from tomorrow, to be reviewed every three weeks, and with exceptions that i will come on to, visiting other households will not be permitted.
“To be clear this extends the restriction that has been in place across the west of Scotland for the last three weeks to all of Scotland.
“Regulations giving effect to this change will come into force on Friday but I am asking people to comply from tomorrow.”
New restrictions in place:
-National ban on the public visiting other people’s homes from Friday.
-People are still free to meet in outdoor gardens or public parks, but only in groups of up to six people and from a maximum of two households.
-Exceptions are in place for those living alone, or alone with children, who form extended households; for couples in non-cohabiting relationships; for the provision of informal childcare by, for example, grandparents; and for tradespeople.
-All pubs, bars and restaurants in Scotland will be required to close by 10pm each night from Friday
-Employers have been asked to send all staff home who can still do their jobs from their own households
