The elderly and vulnerable will bear the brunt of loneliness over the festive period, it is feared.
Many were hoping for a chance to meet loved ones after months of isolation before news broke that Scotland will return to Level 4 on Boxing Day.
Music publicist Jenn Nimmo Smith, 33, from Glasgow was reduced to tears on hearing the news.
Jenn, 33, from Glasgow, whose mother Kathleen, 61, is in a care home, said: “When the new guidelines came in from the First Minister’s press conference, I cried.
“From Boxing Day, we are back on Level 4. What that means for care homes is absolutely no visits.
“I’ve not had an indoor visit since before the pandemic.
“My first one will be on Christmas Day. Because the lateral flow tests have just been introduced, I was really looking forward to being able to go into an allocated room just inside the main door.
“I was planning on having a visit once a week, which was what we were supposed to be allowed but now we’re not having that. I’m concerned for my mum over Christmas. She is devastated. She’s upset that we only get half-an-hour together on Christmas Day.”
Jenn launched the Tech Connection Network to help the vulnerable and elderly stay in touch during lockdown.
She added: “It’s not just Covid that’s killing people. It’s loneliness. People are just giving up. My mum is really upset a lot of the time.
“She just wants to be able to see me and to hug me.”
Adam Stachura, head of policy and communications at Age Scotland, said: “We know this Christmas is set to be the loneliest yet for tens of thousands of older people.”
He added that while the public health necessity was clear “it is a painful sting to those whose promised plans have gone up in smoke.”
