John Swinney, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, has called on Scots not to cross the border into England to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Doing so goes against the “spirit” of the Scottish Government’s Covid restrictions, he says. (No, really?!?) BBC News has more.
Scots have been urged not to travel to England for New Year celebrations to get around the more stringent Covid restrictions north of the border.
There is no travel ban currently in place to stop people going to England, where nightclubs are still open.
But Deputy First Minister John Swinney said doing so would go against the “spirit” of Scottish Covid measures.
He said travelling would be “the wrong course of action” due to the “serious situation” with the Omicron variant.
Case numbers in Scotland hit “alarming” record highs over Christmas and Boxing Day, with the faster-spreading strain now accounting for the majority of all infections.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is to update MSPs in a virtual sitting of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, said she expected the figures to rise even more in the days ahead.
Scots have been encouraged to stay at home as much as possible, and to limit any social gatherings to no more than three households.
Large events such as Edinburgh’s traditional Hogmanay street party have been cancelled, with extra curbs in hospitality settings and nightclubs shut down entirely.
Clubs remain open south of the border, where no new restrictions are being imposed, but Swinney told BBC Breakfast that he would “discourage” anyone from travelling to England to see in the new year.
He said: “People are free to make their own judgments. But what we have got recognise is that Omicron is a serious threat to absolutely everybody within our society and we have all got to take measures to protect ourselves by limiting our social contacts and connections and by complying with the restrictions we have in place.
“I think it is the wrong course of action for people to take because we have a serious situation we have got to manage and we encourage everybody to play their part in addressing that.”
People in England have been urged to be “cautious” while socialising, by taking lateral flow tests and sticking to well-ventilated areas.
Ms Sturgeon is to update MSPs on the latest data and plans when Holyrood is recalled from recess for a virtual sitting at 14:00.
Worth reading in full.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.