The number of people allowed to meet up in Scotland has been cut to six amid concerns Covid-19 is “accelerating”.
Speaking at her daily briefing, first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the new measures as well as a “tightening and extension” of current lockdown rules.
Like England, a maximum of six people will be the new rule for gatherings both inside and outside.
In Scotland, this group can only be from a maximum of two households.
Up to 20 people can attend ceremonies for funerals, weddings and civil partnerships – staying the same as the current number.
But Ms Sturgeon says, from Monday, this limit of 20 will now also apply to wakes and receptions, as long as they are in “regulated venues” where strict guidance is in place.
The new measures mean that theatres, live music venues, indoor soft play facilities and indoor contact sports for people aged over 12 will not open on Monday as had been previously hoped.
It also means that there is now a delay for fans to return to sports stadia and live events, with a review planned for October.
“We cannot at this stage risk the new opportunities for transmission of Covid that reopening further services and facilities would entail,” said the first minister.
“Unfortunately, due to the rise in cases we have seen since then, we have concluded that these changes must be paused for a further three weeks.
“The new indicative date for their resumption is Monday 5 October.
“However, I must stress that this remains an indicative date – a final decision can only be taken nearer the time.”
Face masks to become mandatory in pubs, restaurants and bars
The limit of six people will apply to the hospitality sector when moving around and not eating or drinking, confirmed the first minister.
It will also be mandatory for staff to wear a face covering.
“The hospitality industry has put a lot of effort into creating safe spaces for people to meet and we hope these additional protections will help ensure the sector can remain open, with high levels of compliance,” she said.
Scotland to remain in phase 3 of lockdown
Ms Sturgeon also confirmed Scotland is still in phase 3 of lockdown.
The first minister said: “It is not possible at this stage to indicate a move from phase 3 to phase 4 of the route map out of lockdown.
“I can therefore confirm that we will remain in phase 3 for now – and it is also important to stress that is likely to be the case for some time yet.”
To move to phase 4, Scotland must reach a stage where “the virus is no longer considered a significant threat to public health”.
But Ms Sturgeon said this is currently “definitely not the case.”
The latest estimate of the R number is that it is now above 1 and possibly as high as 1.5.
Trace and Protect App now live
Nicola Sturgeon has urged people to download a new confidential contact tracing app to help the fight against coronavirus.
Protect Scotland, a new smartphone app from NHS Scotland, has now gone live on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
The free service aims to allow the tracing of a wider range of contacts by using mobile phones to detect if you’ve been in close proximity with a positive case.
The app will alert the user if they have been in contact with someone who has registered on their own phone that they’ve tested positive.
Protect Scotland: How the newly-launched NHS confidential contact tracing app works
161 new positive cases in Scotland
The first minister confirmed a further 161 people have tested positive for Covid-19, 1.9% of those newly tested yesterday.
This takes the total number of positive cases in Scotland to 22,039.
266 patients are in hospital with a confirmed case (down eight), with seven being treated in intensive care (up one).
No deaths were registered in the last 24 hours of people who tested positive, meaning the total remains at 2,499.
Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Ms Sturgeon said the provisional data indicates the breakdown of new cases is as follows:
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde: 65
NHS Lanarkshire: 46
NHS Lothian: 12
NHS Ayrshire & Arran: 8
The remainder are spread across eight other health boards.
The first minister highlighted the decision to impose additional restrictions on people living in five local authority areas – in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow City, East and West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.
“The pandemic is at this stage accelerating again – albeit, and thankfully, from a low base and not as rapidly as it was back in March and April.”
But Ms Sturgeon stressed this is not entirely unexpected with the reopening of significant parts of the economy.
“As we released ourselves from lockdown, we also released the virus,” she continued.
“It is important – even in a period of rising cases – that we don’t lose sight of that objective to keep infection levels as low as possible.
Scotland’s rate of new cases has increased from two to just under 20 per 100,000 of population.
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