As Scotland prepares to ease further lockdown restrictions, a new Covid-19 variant is raising concerns.
Nicola Sturgeon ’s advisor and coronavirus expert has cautioned against border relaxations and down in England, the Prime Minister has said that he is “anxious” about the new strain of Covid-19.
So what could this mean for Scotland?
Local lockdowns
Local lockdowns and regional tiers were put in place last year as coronavirus infections increased in the central belt. This could be repeated as 40 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the NHS Lothian area and 141 new transmissions were highlighted in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. There have also been 35 cases of the new variant found in Scotland.
Jason Leitch said today that the growing cases in Glasgow was concerning but have yet to identify strains of the new variant.
He said: “The whole country is at 25 per 100,000, Glasgow is now at 58 which is higher than we would like.”
The First Minister has already suggested that Moray is to stay in Tier 3 as the rest of the mainland is set to go into Tier 2, with events holding up to 100 people inside, relaxation on social distancing measures and alcohol allowed to be consumed inside. However, a decision on Moray’s status will be confirmed by the end of the week.
If local tier systems return, it will come with more hospitality and retail restrictions, which would be a blow to the sectors that have been hit hard by the lockdowns so far.
Travel
Professor Devi Sridhar said that the relaxed borders policy from the UK Government is an opportunity for variants to come into Scotland.
Sturgeon has already cautioned Scots about travelling internationally when flights start up again on May 24th. Warning that people must think carefully before booking trips and that holidays are not essential. The green list currently contains 12 countries but Europe still need to confirm their rules on travel and if the new variant increases in the UK, it could prompt restrictions from Europe.
Down south in England, Boris Johnston said that he is not ruling anything out as the new variant continues to increase with 520 cases around the UK.
He said that as long as the variant doesn’t “take off”, England is on route to end lockdown rules on June 21. However he did suggest that that date could be later if the Indian variant does progress.
The Scottish Government has reported today of an increase of 270 cases and 1 death.
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