NICOLA Sturgeon has told worried drinkers to take their business elsewhere if the bar they’re in fails to take proper coronavirus safety measures.

Speaking as Scotland significantly eased lockdown restrictions, with pubs and restaurants allowed to have customers inside for the first time in four months, the First Minister, and Scotland’s National Clinical Director Jason Leitch, both admitted that they were nervous.

Sturgeon said the re-opening of the hospitality sector was “by some margin, the highest risk” change in the Government’s route map out of lockdown.

The First Minister said the risk of the virus spreading was “significantly higher” indoors and pointed to the state of California, where Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered all bars, cinemas, restaurants and museums to close just weeks after they’d re-opened.

There was little stopping Scots drinkers yesterday though, with queues outside pubs as people flocked back to their locals.

Bill Day, 70, described his first drink inside the Piper’s Rest in Edinburgh, four months since last being in a pub, as “fandabbydozey”.

The retired trade union official told the PA news agency: “It’s my life, it’s my social life being in the pub – I’ve had no social life for four months.

“If I wasn’t such a cheery chappy I’d be ... totally depressed. March 15 was my last day in a pub.”

Pubs are only allowed to re-open with one metre physical distancing in place if they take measures to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

All bars must now take their customers’ names and phone numbers so that if there is an outbreak, they can be easily contact traced and told to self-isolate.

Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Sturgeon said it was vital Scots “stick to the rules and guidance on how to behave in these different settings.”

Yesterday was the seventh day in a row where Scotland reported no deaths of anyone who had tested positive for Covid-19. Sturgeon also revealed that since June 26, there had been six days where there have been no confirmed cases of the virus admitted to hospital.

The First Minister warned that despite those significant milestones, the progress “could yet go into reverse”.

She added: “And it will go into reverse if we see signs that the virus is starting to spread widely in the community again. All of us must do everything we can to ensure that that doesn’t happen.

“So in the days and weeks ahead, enjoy your first meal out in a long time if you are able to do that, enjoy your first drink indoors if you want to do that, enjoy your first haircut, which I know many of us across the country will certainly do. And please support local businesses wherever you can. They need our support at this time more than ever. But do it carefully.”

But she also told Scots not to put up with any businesses who refuse to take public health advice seriously.

“If it doesn’t ask for your contact details and doesn’t seem to be clear about physical distancing – then take your custom elsewhere, because that is for your safety and the safety of those around you,” she said.

Scotland’s National Clinical Director said he wasn’t uncomfortable with the decision to re-open yesterday, “just anxious”.

He said it would be August before the Government would know if the re-opening had gone safely.

“The virus takes about three weeks to tell us what it’s really going to do, the incubation period is about five to seven days, the mild illness is about a week after that. The serious illness happens in the week following that. We have to treat this virus very seriously,” said Leitch.

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard called on Scottish ministers to do more to help the 256,300 people directly employed in the hospitality sector.

Leonard said: “The Scottish Government must step up the fight to save these jobs. Businesses need greater support to make the adaptations they need to accommodate greater social distancing, allowing them to keep more staff on their books. A quality Jobs Guarantee Scheme could stimulate demand as well.”