SAT - Allover - Chris Morphet
Tuesday 10 December 2024
 9.2°C   WSW Moderate Breeze
SCT - 2025/26 Small Grant SchemeSCT - 2025/26 Small Grant Scheme
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Coronavirus / Island communities could have restrictions eased ‘faster’, first minister suggests

First minister Nicola Sturgeon.

FIRST minister Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that the Scottish islands could see their Covid restrictions eased faster than the rest of the country.

Scotland is expected to return to a localised levels system in late April, although Sturgeon will provide more details on the future easing of rules in parliament on Tuesday.

Shetland and most other Scottish islands are currently under level three restrictions while the rest of Scotland is in the more strict level four.

Sturgeon previously said that the islands could drop down a tier to level two at the end of April.

The islands have some of the lowest rates of coronavirus, with Shetland not registering a new case for more than one month.

This is against a backdrop of more than half the adult population in Shetland now having had their first dose of the vaccine.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 committee yesterday (Wednesday), Sturgeon said there may be scope for the islands to ease restrictions quicker than the rest of the country.

“I will set out more of our expectations around this to the parliament next Tuesday, but I hope that, initially, as we come out of lockdown measures, we can do so as one country and then, in the future, if we have outbreaks or flare-ups, we can use the levels system to deal with them,” the first minister said.

“However, I hope that at least some substantial parts of easing of lockdown can apply across the country. Of course, it might very quickly be possible for some parts to go faster – I am talking about island and rural communities, in particular.”

Sturgeon also reiterated caution for easing restrictions too quickly, thanks in part to the new strain of the virus which is more spreadable.

“As I said in my initial statement, the exit from lockdown might be slower than any of us wants it to be, for good reason—that is true across the United Kingdom—but my focus and priority are to try to make it steady and one-directional, rather than going too fast now and finding that we take one step forward but two steps back,” the first minister said.

“I cannot guarantee that we will not have to do that, but I think that a bit of caution at this stage is the best mitigation and protection against it that we have.”

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.