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Coronavirus in Scotland: Further dates for lockdown easing to be announced Coronavirus: Scottish pubs and restaurants to reopen in July
(about 13 hours later)
Scotland's first minister is to give an update on the timescale for easing the country's lockdown restrictions. People in Scotland will be allowed to meet up with two other households indoors from 10 July and pubs and restaurants can re-open from 15 July.
The statement by Nicola Sturgeon is expected to include dates for when some further parts of the economy can open. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also said the five-mile travel limit will be lifted from 3 July, while beer gardens can re-open from 6 July.
Ms Sturgeon said she was able to do this earlier than originally planned because of the country's success in suppressing the virus. Hairdressers and barbers can open from 15 July, as can holiday accommodation.
Scotland formally moved to the second phase of its four-phase lockdown easing plan last week. Ms Sturgeon said the move was possible thanks to the "real sustained progress" made in suppressing the virus.
Ms Sturgeon will now provide more information about the timing of some of the specific steps. But she said the changes depended on keeping the virus under control, and could be reversed if it was felt necessary to do so.
Her update comes the day after the UK government announced major changes to the lockdown restrictions in England, including a relaxation of the 2m social distancing rules. And they will not apply to people who are shielding, who will be given further advice "before the end of July".
Ms Sturgeon has said Scotland will not follow in relaxing the 2m rule until at least next week, when her scientific advisers are due to report back on the potential impact of doing so. The first minister was speaking as new data showed that the coronavirus death rate has continued to fall for the eighth week in a row, with Ms Sturgeon saying these "clear trends" meant "firmer milestones" for the journey out of lockdown could be set.
The move to the second phase of the lockdown easing plan saw the first minister announce that most non-essential shops will be able to reopen from 29 June. Advisors are still reviewing whether the 2m (6ft 6in) physical distancing rule should be eased, but a range of different shops and services can now begin planning for re-opening in mid-July.
The wider tourism industry in Scotland - which has been hit particularly hard by the lockdown - has been told to prepare to reopen on 15 July. The government's revised routemap said shopping centres and dental practices could fully re-open from 13 July, while optometrists can begin to scale up work.
And the country's school pupils were told on Tuesday to prepare to return to school full-time in August rather than part-time, as had originally been the plan. From 15 July, all holiday accommodation can open up, along with indoor areas of pubs and restaurants and hairdressers and barbers.
But there have not yet been any dates given for businesses such as pubs, restaurants or hairdressers - which are all due to open in England on 4 July, as will cinemas, hotels, museums, libraries and many visitor attractions. Museums, galleries, cinemas and libraries will be allowed to resume business from the same date, as long as physical distancing and other safety measures are enforced.
The Scottish government has generally been taking a more cautious approach to opening up the economy again than the UK government has in England, where shops were able to reopen earlier this month. However live entertainment venues like theatres, nightclubs and bingo halls "will not re-open until a later date", while "further consideration" is being given to the opening of indoor gyms and restrictions on weddings and funerals.
Ms Sturgeon has been concerned that moving too quickly will risk a resurgence of the virus, which has already been linked to the deaths of more than 4,000 people in Scotland. Ministers have already announced that they are planning for schools to return full-time from 11 August with no physical distancing between pupils.
The Scottish Conservatives have accused her of following a "go-slow" approach that risks leaving Scotland behind both economically and socially. Ms Sturgeon said that on 1 May, it was estimated that about 25,000 people in Scotland had the virus - but that she expected that figure to be "around 2,000" when new figures are published on Thursday.
However, the first minister indicated on Tuesday that she could now accelerate her plans because of the progress that had been made, with daily hospital admissions related to coronavirus now down to single figures and the number of people in intensive care only a tenth of what they were at the height of the outbreak. She said this was "down to people doing the right thing and following the rules", saying: "The sacrifices that have been made have suppressed the virus, protected the NHS and undoubtedly saved a significant number of lives."
Ms Sturgeon also said Scotland was "not far away" from eliminating community transmission of coronavirus if cases continue to decline over the next few months. The first minister said Scots "must not be complacent" about the virus, but said if progress continued to be made then "the prize is getting greater normality back in our lives, maybe more quickly than we would have envisaged a few weeks ago".
What else has been introduced in Phase Two? 'Slightly slower'
The changes announced by Ms Sturgeon last week mean anyone who lives on their own - or only with children - can now form an "extended group" with one other household. Many of the changes mirror those announced for England by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday, but with dates two weeks later.
People can also meet outdoors with two other households at the same time rather than just one, and people who have previously been told to shield are now able to meet other people outside for the first time. Ms Sturgeon accepted that Scotland's pace in exiting lockdown "is slightly slower than England's", saying this was "in my view right for our circumstances and I hope more likely to be sustainable than if we went faster".
Face coverings have been made compulsory for everyone using public transport. And she said each step towards easing lockdown "depends on us continuing to beat the virus back" and could potentially be reversed.
And dentists been allowed to reopen for urgent care, while professional sport can resume behind closed doors and places of worship can open for individual prayer. She said: "Our challenge, not an easy one, is to manage all of this change while keeping the virus firmly under control. If at any stage there appears to be a risk of its resurgence, our path out of lockdown will be halted and we may even have to go backwards.
Many indoor workplaces such as factories, laboratories and warehouses will also start to reopen from 29 June, subject to strict physical distancing and hygiene rules. "To avoid that, we must get as close as possible to elimination of the virus now, and build confidence in our ability to control it in future through surveillance, testing, contact tracing and, where necessary, targeted suppression measures."
Outdoor outdoor markets, playgrounds and sports facilities will reopen on the same day, along with some visitor attractions such as zoos - although visitors should still not travel more than five miles from their homes and tickets should be bought in advance. Information leaflets about the government's contact tracing system are being delivered to every household in Scotland, while ministers are considering whether to make face coverings mandatory in shops.