First Minister calls on Scotland to remain vigilant about Covid-19 after easing of lockdown and spike in confirmed cases
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government will be looking “very closely” at an overnight spike in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The number of confirmed cases has risen by 18 since yesterday, taking the total to 18,333.
At today's Scottish Government briefing Ms Sturgeon warned: "It is a sharp reminder to all of us that this virus hasn't gone away.”
“Today’s figure for new cases is very low and we are always going to see day-today variations in the data, but it is probably worth noting that this is the highest figure we have seen in almost three weeks," she said
“So we will be looking into this very closely today and while we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions – there is no reason for us to do that yet – I think it is a sharp reminder to all of us that this virus hasn’t gone away, it is still out there."
She was "very pleased" to announce that there had been no further deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
“I appeal to all of you to think even more carefully about the basic things all of us can do and, I would argue, have a duty to do to try to make sure that this virus doesn’t spread again," she said.
Announcing further details on the lifting of restrictions she said that detailed guidance for hairdressers – permitted to reopen from next Wednesday – has now been published.
Also from Wednesday a maximum of 20 people will be able to attend a funeral, marriage or civil partnership ceremony or service.
“We will also be removing restrictions on the categories of people who may attend funerals – in many cases previously attendance was limited to immediate family only," she added.
“These changes apply only to services and ceremonies – other associated ceremonies such as wedding receptions or funeral wakes are still subject to the rules that apply for all other indoor and outdoor gatherings."
People attending any such services and ceremonies will still be subject to social distancing requirements.
And as the wearing of face coverings in shops became compulsory she said: “I encourage people to see wearing a face covering for the foreseeable future when you go to the shops to become as automatic as a seatbelt in a car already is."
