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All pubs and restaurants in central Scotland will be closed under new measures aimed at addressing an increase in coronavirus cases.
The new rules will apply to licensed facilities in the central belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Pubs and restaurants may open in other parts of Scotland, but can only serve alcohol outdoors.
The new rules, which will be in effect from 6:00 p.m. on Friday to October 25, apply to about 3.4 million people.
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the restrictions were “intended to be a short and abrupt action to stop a worrying rise in infection.”
He warned that if measures are not taken, the country runs the risk of “returning to the maximum level of infection by the end of the month.”
But he admitted that the new rules would be detrimental to many companies and would not be well received by many people.
The Scottish Hospitality Group, which includes many of the country’s best-known pubs and restaurants, accused the prime minister of “effectively signing a death warrant” for many companies.
And the Federation of Small Businesses said the measure would have a major impact on other parts of the economy, including tourism.
Opposition parties have asked for more details on a £ 40 million support package for the affected businesses that was announced by Ms Sturgeon, and have questioned the need for a general closure of pubs and restaurants.
The restrictions for the central belt cover people living in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran council of health areas.
In these areas, all authorized facilities, with the exception of resident hotels, must be closed both inside and outside, although take-out will be allowed.
Cafes that do not have an alcoholic beverage license may remain open until 18:00.
Billiard and billiard rooms, indoor bowling alleys, casinos and bingo halls will also close in all five health areas for two weeks starting October 10.
And contact sports for people 18 and older will be suspended for the next two weeks, with the exception of professional sports.
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The beer gardens outside the central belt will be able to serve alcohol until 10:00 p.m.
Group exercise activities will not be allowed indoors, although current rules remain in effect for those under 18 and gyms may remain open for individual exercise.
No live outdoor events will be allowed in any of the five regions for the next fortnight.
There will be no travel ban in either area, but people in the central belt have been urged to avoid public transportation unless “absolutely necessary.”
And they have also been advised not to travel outside of the health board area where they live if not necessary.
During the pandemic, Scotland has tended to take a slightly more cautious approach than England.
It has imposed more restrictions and lifted them more slowly overall. The latest move is in line with that trend.
There is little difference in overall infection rates. Scotland has seen 85 cases per 100,000 in the last week, compared to 109 in England.
The measures imposed by the Scottish government focus on the areas with the highest rates of infection.
But those locations are somewhat below the levels seen at hotspots in England.
Cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle have seen around 500 cases per 100,000 people in the last week, more than double the level of infection in Glasgow, for example.
But the differences between the two nations shouldn’t mask the growing concern in England about infection rates, particularly in the north of the country.
The senior ministers and their advisers are discussing today whether additional steps south of the border are needed.
The problem is that action to suppress the virus also has negative consequences.
This can be seen in the growing number of scientists and health experts who are signing the Great Barrington Declaration warning of the impact of Covid’s lockdown policies.
In other parts of the country, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes may open indoors until 6:00 PM, but only to serve food and non-alcoholic beverages.
However, they will be able to serve alcohol in outdoor settings like beer gardens until 10 p.m., with the current rules about no more than six people from two households remaining in place.
And the existing rules will continue to apply to weddings that have already been booked and funerals in all parts of Scotland.
It comes as Scotland recorded more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of the virus in a single day for the first time, although the country is doing much more testing now than at the height of the pandemic earlier this year.
Speaking when announcing the new rules in the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon said that the “vast majority” of pubs and restaurants had worked hard to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.
But he added: “Indoor environments, where different households of different age groups can mix, inevitably present a risk of transmission.
“This risk can increase in some hospitality establishments if good ventilation is difficult and if it is difficult to control the movement of people.
“And the presence of alcohol, of course, can affect people’s willingness to physically distance themselves.”
The Scottish Conservative Group’s leader, Ruth Davidson, asked for more details on the support that would be given to the companies, saying that “many are running out of nothing.”
And Scottish Labor leader Richard Leonard said the government should aim for rules-breaking premises “rather than shutting down all businesses.”
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