Nicola Sturgeon has announced the once-a-day-limit on exercise will be removed from the coronavirus lockdown measures in Scotland, but warned the vast majority of restrictions remain in place.
The intervention comes after the devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all rejected the UK government’s strategy to switch to a “stay alert” message, rather than “stay at home”.
After dialling into a meeting of Cobra with Boris Johnson, the Scottish first minister warned “we mustn’t squander” progress made in combating the virus by easing up too soon “or by sending mixed messages” that confuse the public.
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“Let me be very blunt about the consequences if we were to do that,” she said. “People will die unnecessarily. And instead of being able to loosen restrictions, hopefully, in the near future, we will be faced instead with having to tighten them.”
She added: You may hear the prime minister announce other immediate changes tonight for England – as is his right. I don’t expect these immediate changes to be significant and I predict that any differences with the position here in Scotland will be relatively minor.”
“However, for the avoidance of doubt, let me be clear – except for the one change I have confirmed today, the rules here haven’t changed. We remain in lockdown for now and my ask of you remains to stay at home.”
In a swipe at Mr Johnson, she said the devolved nations should not be “reading of each other’s plans for the first time in newspapers”, after The Sunday Telegraph published the first details of No 10’s switch from “stay at home” to “stay alert” messaging.
She added: “And decisions that are being taken for one nation only – for good, evidence-based reasons – should not be presented as if they apply UK-wide.”
“Clarity of message is paramount if we expect all of you to know exactly what it is we are asking of you. As leaders, we have a duty to deliver that clarity to those we are accountable to, not confuse it.”
“To that end I have asked the UK government not to deploy their ‘Stay Alert’ ad campaign in Scotland. Because the message in Scotland at this stage is not stay at home if you can. The message is, except for the essential reasons you know about, stay at home, full stop.”
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish cabinet had met on Sunday afternoon and agreed to remove the once-a-day-limit on exercise, but reiterated it would not apply to those who have received a letter telling them they are at a high risk from the virus or are showing Covid-19 symptoms.
She said the relaxation in rules on outside activities do not extend to picnics, barbecues or sunbathing, warning it was also “not a licence” to start meeting up in groups in parks or at beaches.
“Doing that really does risk spreading the virus and could force us to reintroduce stricter guidelines and toughen the regulations and penalties in the future,” Ms Sturgeon added.
The Scottish first minister insisted “all other lockdown restrictions remain in place” and urged people to continue with social distancing measures.
