Seven fixed penalty notices issued by police for Covid breaches at weekend

THE POLICE issued seven people with fixed penalty notices at the weekend (14 and 15 November) in relation to breaches of coronavirus legislation.

Chief inspector Lindsay Tulloch said they were issued where “groups from different households were meeting indoors”.

He said this involved parties or gatherings of people in houses of more than two households.

On Friday people in Shetland were allowed to socialise again in other people’s homes, but the limit is six people from two households.

“We have been quite clear that we will enforce the law where necessary, as the public would expect us to do,” Tulloch said.

“House gatherings of any size cause the virus to spread and we are asking people to do the right thing and take personal responsibility.

“I fully understand the implications the current restrictions have on our daily lives, but we cannot have people twisting the rules and disregarding the law which is there to stop the spread of coronavirus and help save lives.

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“The chief constable has made it clear that we are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to stay safe, protect others and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading.”

NHS Shetland chief executive Michael Dickson said the police made a “very valid point” that in order to stay safe “each one of us has to be careful and take responsibility for what we do and how we behave”.

“The regulations are not there to punish people or to make life difficult, they are there because it is vital that we all work together to reduce the risk of this virus spreading,” Dickson said.

“We urge everyone in our community to abide by the regulations. This pandemic is hard for all of us and, although a vaccine is in sight and should be available very soon, now is not the time to drop our guard.”