[ad_1]
Image copyright
fake images
Pubs and restaurants in the central belt must close for two weeks
Additional police officers will be deployed to Scottish communities to ensure bars and restaurants close at 18:00, Scottish Police said.
Police Chief Iain Livingston said the patrols would be “very visible” to explain and encourage compliance with the new Covid restrictions.
After the closure of stores in the central belt, they will not reopen until at least October 25.
Tighter restrictions will also take effect in the rest of the country.
Licensed venues will not be able to serve alcohol indoors and opening hours will be limited.
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the measures were “essential” to bring the spread of the virus back under control.
Livingstone said that most people had cooperated with the police and supported their work during the Covid crisis. But he said he was concerned about a “small minority” who continue to host house parties.
In the week ending Sunday, October 4, the police broke up 271 illegal house parties, imposed 106 fines, and made 18 arrests.
“While the restrictions have changed rapidly and frequently, I don’t think anyone in Scotland can have any doubt that gatherings and house parties allow the virus to spread and are illegal,” Livingston said.
“It is very clear that, with some legitimate exemptions, people should not visit each other’s houses.”
“When we encounter willful, repeated, persistent or flagrant violations, we will act decisively, as the public expects and supports, to enforce the law.”
Image copyright
fake images
Approximately 3.4 million people in five health boards (Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran) will be subject to the most severe restrictions.
In these areas of the central belt, authorized stores will have to close for 16 days, although they can still serve take-out food.
Licensed cafes will not have to close as long as they do not serve alcohol, although there is confusion as to what constitutes a cafe and whether these rules might apply to some restaurants.
Hospitality venues will be allowed to open in the rest of Scotland, but non-alcoholic beverages and food will only be allowed to be served indoors between 06:00 and 18:00.
Locals licensed in these areas will still be able to serve alcohol in outdoor areas, such as beer gardens, until the 10 p.m. curfew introduced in September.
Regulations to enforce the measures are expected to be published on Friday.
Some business owners in the hospitality industry have said the new rules could have a “massive impact” on businesses and cost thousands of jobs.
New measures will also go into effect starting at midnight to restore the 2 m (6 ft 6 in) physical distance rule in stores and enforce the rules on the use of face covers.
Live outdoor events, adult contact sports, group exercise classes, pool and billiards halls, casinos, and bingo halls will also need to close in the health board areas covering Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran.
Image copyright
fake images
Nicola Sturgeon said the government was seeking a “difficult balance”
People are also asked to avoid public transportation whenever possible and not to share a vehicle with another household.
The new restrictions are an attempt to stop a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, with another 1,027 positive tests recorded Thursday.
The number of hospitalized people receiving treatment for the virus has more than doubled in one week to 377, with 31 in intensive care.
A document released by the government on Wednesday claimed that the rate of infections could reach a peak similar to that experienced in March before the end of October.
‘Reverse’
Scotland’s national clinical director has insisted that the new restrictions are not intended to be “punishment” by the Scottish government for people who do not comply with regulations.
Professor Jason Leitch told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland program on Friday: “It is not punishment. The virus is punishment.”
“The enemy here is not clinical advice. The enemy here is a deadly virus that has killed a million people.”
Professor Leitch also told the show that he had “high hopes” that the combination of recent limitations on household mix and the new measures will allow progression to the “next version of what the restrictions might look like.”
But, highlighting the growing number of cases in Europe, he warned: “There has to be a reverse gear.”
On Thursday, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that “I don’t get up in the morning and decide to close the pubs for some kind of political reason – we are in a global pandemic where we are trying to save lives.”
He said the government needed to strike a “difficult balance” between public health and “the interests of the economy.”
‘Work-life balance’
Details of a £ 40 million support package for hospitality companies have yet to be established, and Ms Sturgeon said the government would consult with industry leaders before acting.
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce said the move “would sound like the coup de grace for businesses in the hotel sector, especially pubs and bars.”
And UK Hospitality Chief Executive Officer for Scotland Willie Macleod said he feared “we will see tens of thousands of lost jobs by the time we do the final tally of all this.”
Sturgeon said he was “acutely aware – literally in every waking moment right now – of the impact of the decisions I make and the potential impact of the decisions I don’t make.”
She added: “It’s literally about striking a work-life balance, all the time. I don’t wish I had to make the decisions for anyone.”
