THE First Minister will give an update on Scotland’s coronavirus restrictions this afternoon, following the first changes on the path out of lockdown yesterday.
Hairdressers and garden centres were given the go-ahead to open up yesterday after the stay at home order was replaced with “stay local” guidance.
Further easing – like reopening shops, gyms, indoor hospitality and tourist accommodation, and allowing travel between local authority areas – is not expected until April 26.
This proposed date is likely to be the main focus of Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus update this afternoon as Scotland looks to the next steps out of lockdown.
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Speaking from St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh, Sturgeon will provide the usual figures on deaths, cases and vaccine doses before discussing the restrictions.
It is hoped that the First Minister will confirm during the announcement that the nation is on track for these next major steps out of lockdown.
She is expected to provide the update at about midday. It will be aired on the BBC Scotland channel, BBC One Scotland and the Scottish Government's Twitter account. The National will report on all key points from the statement.
At a press conference in the multi-million-pound Downing Street TV studio last night, Boris Johnson said he would stick “like glue” to his plan to ease restrictions in England – despite scientific advisers warning it could create a wave of Covid-19 infections similar to that seen in spring 2020.
Johnson told viewers he had seen nothing to make him “deviate” from his plan to scrap all restrictions by June.
His comments come despite modelling from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) showing that, while stage two of the unlocking is unlikely to exert pressure on the NHS, the proposed changes for May and June when social mixing is set to be permitted again could cause hospital admissions to rise to levels seen during January’s winter peak.
It comes as England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned that coronavirus “will be with us for the foreseeable future” while chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance suggested the pandemic could result in long-term changes in behaviour.
Vallance said better hand hygiene, regular Covid-19 testing and staying away from work when feeling ill were “likely to be important baseline measures” in the future.
As well as warnings about the impact of his lockdown easing plans, Johnson looks set for a showdown with Tory MPs as the Government appeared to pave the way for so-called vaccine passports to be used in the UK.
A UK Government paper on the interim findings of a taskforce review of Covid status certification said they could have an “important role to play both domestically and internationally, as a temporary measure”.
They will not be needed for the reopening of beer gardens next week or for the return of drinkers to pubs next month but the review, led by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, appeared to hold the door open to them being adopted by publicans at a later date.
READ MORE: Chris Whitty predicts new Covid-19 'surge' as Sage suggests 30,000 more deaths
The eight-page document said it was “possible” Covid certificates could “play a role in reducing social distancing requirements” in hospitality settings – a signal that if pubs want to be packed again, they might have to come up with ways of checking vaccine passports.
The Government has promised further consultation with the sector but the concept has riled Tory MPs.
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told Times Radio further checks to go to the pub were a “diminution of your logical rights” while former chief whip Mark Harper warned their introduction would lead to a “two-tier Britain”.
With Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer calling the idea “un-British”, Johnson – who is due to visit the North West on Tuesday – could be facing a defeat in the House of Commons if he concedes to the Covid Recovery Group, made up of lockdown-sceptic Tories, and agrees to a vote on vaccine passports.
The row over Covid certificates comes amid reports the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is considering proposals to restrict the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in younger people and that, according to Channel 4, a decision could be made as early as today.
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