Scotland Circuit Break: What Could It Be?

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The new lockdown sanctions will be announced on Wednesday, the first minister said. It is possible that this could be in the form of a “circuit-breaker” downdown for a relatively short period of time. Nicola Sturgeon says it won’t be the same as the lockdown released in March – so what will it look like?

Why does the government think we need a circuit breaker?

New positive cases of Covid-19 began to grow slowly in Scotland during August.

Initially many new cases were confined to local clusters, but now this increase is widespread in Scotland and the trend of new cases is becoming more intense.

In addition, the number of positive tests has increased and the number of people being treated at the Covid-19 hospital is increasing.

New deaths have also begun to rise after a positive test for Covid-1, and the R number – or the rate of virus transmission – could be as high as 1.7.

In short, all warning signs are flashing red and the Scottish government wants to slow this boom before it starts filling hospitals in the flu season.

A Scotland-wide ban on indoors was introduced on 22 September, but if the move does not appear to be working fast enough, ministers will have to turn to tougher sanctions.

Ms. Sturgeon says the circuit breaker is “about buying some time that brings you through the winter.”

She also says it is important to suppress the virus “while we wait for other things to happen” – such as vaccine development.

What will not happen

In his coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, the prime minister outlined what sanctions would not be imposed as part of any new measures announced on Wednesday.

We learned:

• It’s “not another lockdown, not even temporary.”
• The Scottish Government will not tell people to stay indoors, although non-essential travel will still be frustrating.
• There will be no Scotland-wide travel ban, although the former minister said travel bans may sometimes be necessary for “hotspot areas”.
• It is not proposed to close schools “completely or partially”

How long will it last?

The idea behind the circuit breaker is that it is a “short, sharp shock”.

Essentially it needs to be longer to break the chains of transmission – but shorter to minimize the impact on the economy.

Jason Leach, Scotland’s national clinical director Talked about two weeks Enough to buy the country another 28 days in the fight against the virus.

It is also possible that any circuit breaker will be for a set period of time, rather than uncertainty like the original lockdown of March.

Will schools close?

Keeping schools open is the MS. Is one of Sturgeon’s stated priorities and is a message he keeps repeating.

The first minister said on Monday that the Scottish government was trying to control the virus that continued to teach full-time in schools.

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Asked in her daily briefing on Monday whether there were plans for part-time or mixed education for schools, she said: “I have no proposal to send children to part-time school – and let me be very clear about that.

“This is about trying to manage this infection in a way that allows us to keep schools open other than the fixed holiday period, that we don’t have either extended holidays or scheduled holidays or compound learning moves.”

However, Ms Sturgeon indicated that the half-term school holiday break provided an opportunity to put in place measures that “try to reduce some of the transmission risks we face” – while acknowledging that not all local authorities share the same half-term week.

What about hospitality?

Bars and restaurants in Scotland are already under curfew at 22:00 – but could it be completely closed during the autumn lunar downtown?

Linda Bould, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, thinks there may be some kind of restrictions on hospitality.

• Fear of tourism and hospitality in the ‘circuit breaker’

“We want to reduce the household mix – in other words, meet others inside the home,” Ms Bould told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland program.

“So let’s think about the fact that we can’t do that in Scotland when it comes to moving to someone else’s house – it’s already in place. So what else can the government do to reduce it?”

“That means, unfortunately, the hospitality venues will be temporarily closed [and] Probably other places where they have got data from tests and data that things are more dangerous. “

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Can there be a travel ban?

During Scotland’s initial lockdown, five-mile travel was banned for non-essential travel.

Ms Sturgeon has said she was “part of the consideration” in considering the extra measures, but has now rejected a comprehensive travel ban to Scotland.

However, he said travel bans may be needed to deal with the growing number of cases in “hotspot areas”.

Brian Taylor, political editor of the BBC Scotland, says it is possible that Ms Sturgeon could more effectively link Scotland to broader measures, including tougher measures such as travel bans for affected areas.

There is also an example in Scotland for a ban on domestic travel.

In Ber Bardin, a five-mile ban was imposed on non-essential travel for 18 days in Gust as part of a local lockdown, which helped public health teams get to the top of the local cluster of cases.

What else is happening?

Much of Europe is also seeing a “second wave” of coronavirus cases, and Professor Bould says it’s worth looking at what measures have been introduced.

In France, gatherings are limited to 10 people and wedding sessions, student parties and other organized gatherings at rented venues are prohibited.

Paris is also closing all bars for two weeks from 6 October. The bar, gym and swimming pool in the city will also be closed for two weeks.

• What are the new rules in France and Europe?

Spain has introduced a new lockdown in Madrid and nine surrounding cities.

About five million people are now allowed to leave their local area alone for work, school or medical care.

And in the Republic of Ireland, all non-essential travel to Dublin has been frustrated where there has been an increase in recent cases.