“Education is absolutely vital – the BBC is here to play its part and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring this to audiences so swiftly.”
The BBC is set to deliver the biggest education offer in its history across more of its platforms. It will bring together BBC Two, CBBC, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and online to deliver a new education offer to children, teachers and parents as a third national lockdown begins.
Reacting quickly to the news of UK schools moving to remote learning, the new offer from the BBC will ensure all children can access curriculum-based learning, even if they don’t have access to the internet.
Starting on Monday 11 January, each weekday on CBBC will see a three-hour block of primary school programming from 9am, including BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily, as well as other educational programming such as Our School and Celebrity Supply Teacher and much loved titles such as Horrible Histories, Art Ninja and Operation Ouch.
BBC Two will cater for secondary students with programming to support the GCSE curriculum, with a least two hours of content each weekday.
Content will be built around Bitesize Daily secondary shows, complemented by Shakespeare and classic drama adaptations alongside science, history and factual titles from the BBC’s award-winning factual programming units.
Bitesize Daily primary and secondary will also air every day on BBC Red Button as well as episodes being available on demand on BBC iPlayer.
Tim Davie, BBC Director General, says: “Ensuring children across the UK have the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their nation’s school curriculum has been a key priority for the BBC throughout this past year.
“Education is absolutely vital – the BBC is here to play its part and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring this to audiences so swiftly.”
This TV offer sits alongside a wealth of online content which parents, children and teachers can access when and where they need it:
For primary, BBC Bitesize online has an expanded offer of structured lessons in Maths and English for all year groups – these can be used at home or in the classroom. ‘This Term’s Topics’ also covers other curriculum subjects and curates learning content that works for the Spring curriculum. This content can be easily incorporated into a learning plan or used to explore different topics at home. Visit bbc.co.uk/bitesize, click on the year group and subject and all the content is there.
For secondary pupils, Bitesize is also home to two-week learning packs for English and Maths in KS3 (years 7, 8 and 9) as well as This Term’s Topics for other subjects to be used at home or to support teachers in the remote classrooms.
For students in Years 10 and 11, the Bitesize GCSE offer allows students to pick their exam board and subject to find everything they need to help with their studies. Visit bbc.co.uk/bitesize/secondary for details.
Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, says: “The BBC has helped the nation through some of the toughest moments of the last century, and for the next few weeks it will help our children learn whilst we stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.
“This will be a lifeline to parents and I welcome the BBC playing its part.”
Educational content for all nations will also be available.
With tighter restrictions and national lockdowns back in place, I want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to keep you and our colleagues safe when you shop with us (writes Sainsbury’s Chief Executive SIMON ROBERTS).
Everyone must wear a mask in our stores
Keeping you and our colleagues safe is our absolute priority and we are looking again at all of our safety measures in stores.
We continue to limit the number of people in our shops at any one time and we have greeters outside every supermarket to help with this.
We are also asking all customers to please wear a mask and to shop alone. This will help us limit the number of people shopping at any one time and help everyone shop and work safely.
We’ll also have posters and tannoy messages making it really clear that everyone must wear a mask, unless you have an exemption.
Convenience stores will also have colleagues at the store entrances to help customers and manage numbers. All our stores have hand sanitising stations available for you to use at the entrance and please be assured our colleagues continue to regularly clean trolleys and baskets.
Ramping up online capacity
As people are being asked to stay at home, more people want to shop online and we’re doing everything we can to support you with this. We have increased slots from 340,000 last March to over 800,000 per week now and we’re doing everything we can to increase that number, across both home delivery and click and collect. We continue to give elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers priority access to these slots.
Please shop for others and only buy what you need
We have good availability of products in our stores and online and we have new stock arriving from our suppliers every day. You can still feel confident that you can find what you need at Sainsbury’s and if we all continue to buy just what we need, there will be enough food for everyone.
It’s been really heartening to see so many of you and our colleagues doing what you can to help elderly and vulnerable people in your communities. With clinically extremely vulnerable people required to shield once again in many areas, I would like to encourage everyone to please shop for others if you can. Our Volunteer Shopping Card can help you do this without needing to use cash.
Supporting our communities
With your help, our ‘Help Brighten a Million Christmases’ campaign raised nearly £6 million for over 800 local charitable partners as well as Comic Relief and FareShare. Thank you for all of your support and donations.
To continue to support our communities as we head into this third lockdown, I’m pleased to let you know that we’re creating another £1 million local community fund for all our stores to donate to charities and other good causes in their local area over the coming months.
We are also continuing to support the government’s free school meal vouchers scheme, helping children who qualify for free school meals have access to these meals while schools are closed.
I want to thank all of our colleagues who continue to deal with these challenges that affect their everyday lives while also carrying out a vital role in helping to feed the nation. Thank you too for helping us to keep you and our colleagues safe.
As always, if there is anything you think we could be doing better please let me know.
The Scottish Government has been urged to act quickly on the public demand for a ban on single-use plastic items in Scotland.
A 12-week public consultation which ended on Monday 4th January was seeking views on the introduction of restrictions on the sale of items including single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. Exemptions are likely for products such as plastic straws provided for medical use and to support independent living.
Experts estimate that each year in Scotland, we use an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery and 66 million polystyrene food containers. Campaigners say that any delay to action will mean millions more pieces of plastic will end up in landfill or potentially polluting our beaches and waterways.
Under the EU’s Single-Use Plastic Directive, Member States have to introduce restrictions on the sale of some of the most environmentally-harming single-use plastic products by July 2021. The Scottish Government announced in their 2019-2020 Programme for Government that it planned to meet or exceed the standards set out in the Directive.
More than 1900 people who took action online via Friends of the Earth Scotland backed the Scottish Government’s plans to ban single-use plastic items. They also called for a Just Transition for workers in Grangemouth with the phasing out of fossil-fuel-based plastic production. Ineos is the UK’s largest producer of plastic using fracked gas transported from the USA.
Friends of the Earth Scotland Plastic and Circular Economy Campaigner Sarah Moyes said: “The public response clearly shows that people are concerned about plastic pollution in Scotland and want to see action to tackle these persistent polluters. The knife and fork we use for a quick bite to eat shouldn’t endure beyond our lifetime sitting in landfill for hundreds of years.
“Plastic pollutes at every stage of its life cycle from the oil and gas extracted to produce it, to the end products which litter our environment. In order to get to the heart of the plastic problem, we must also look beyond this list of products and address the fact that Ineos, one of the biggest producers of plastic in Europe is right on our doorstep.”
The Single-Use Plastic Directive is part of wider work to reduce waste in Scotland. Campaigners raised concerns about how other measures to tackle waste such as the Deposit Return Scheme introduction have been delayed, the Circular Economy Bill was shelved and a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill was pushed back by 4 years.
Sarah Moyes said: “Scotland could soon be on our way to having communities across the country freed from litter and waste, and that’s why it’s imperative that the Scottish Government moves quickly to ban these polluting plastic items.
“Even a delay of just six months will lead to hundreds of millions of extra pieces of disposable plastic circulating in Scotland. The longer we invest in or support the fossil fuel industry, the longer we lock Scotland into increasing emissions that fuel the escalating climate crisis.
“If we want to avoid further climate breakdown then we must redirect support away from the plastic industry, like Ineos, instead planning and managing the shift in partnership with trade unions, workers and communities to ensure a Just Transition to a clean industry that moves us towards a circular economy.”
Working from home, especially during extended periods can be difficult to adjust to. For many of us, it means learning how to manage our different areas of work under new circumstances.
While we all experience and learn to adapt to new situations and environments differently, there are some challenges that we are all facing.
We’ve put together some top tips on how to get the most out of working from home while looking after yourself and your mental health.
Create your morning routine
Create a morning routine that brings you up until the moment you begin work for the day. It may sound trivial, but this helps you mentally prepare for the day ahead and get into the “I’m going to work” mindset.
You probably have a routine when you get to work, so creating a routine at home is also a good idea.
It could be making a cup of coffee. It might be returning home after a jog, or doing some mindfulness sessions. It could be getting dressed (although it may be tempting to stay in your pyjamas, it may not be the best look for those video conference calls!).
Whatever it is, setting yourself up for the day can improve your state of mind and psychologically prepare you to start work.
It is easy to lose track of time when working from home, so set a schedule, and stick to it…where you can.
Having clear guidelines for when to start work and when to call it a day helps maintain your life-work balance. Aim to start and finish at your normal working times.
We know that those in self-isolation, who have childcare or other caring responsibilities, may need to be more flexible in the times they might work. For example, you may need to switch to some evening work so you can spend time with children during the day. Speak to your line manager about agreeing a new temporary work schedule.
3. Create your own workspace
Although it’s tempting to head to your sofa with a laptop, you’re may find setting up a work area helps you stay focused. If you can, try to set aside a specific area or space where you can work. If you don’t have a desk, use a table or worktop.
Besides making you feel like you’re at an “office,” this helps you maintain good posture, avoid distractions, and mentally leave your work behind at the end of the day. The NHS advice is that you should adjust your chair so you can use the keyboard with your wrists and forearms straight and level with the floor.
4. Set ground rules with the people you share your space with
There might be other people in your home during these exceptional times. They may be working from home too or self-isolating. You may all need to share a limited amount of space so it’s important to set some ground rules. For example, when you need access to a certain area of your home; or designated times for ‘quiet time’.
Working with limited childcare options
With schools and nurseries closed, you may find yourself needing to come up with new routines not only for your working life, but within your personal life for your children or siblings. Talk to your employer or manager about potential flexible working opportunites at your place of work. You may want to consider the following:
Are the children old enough so you can still continue to work?
Can someone supervise the children some of the time?
Can you alter your working times?
Do I want to consider using some annual leave to spend time with children?
If children are at home, then try set some ground rules. Have clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time, when they can come and speak to you and when you need left alone.
We also know that many schools have reminded parents not to set unrealistic expectations or goals. Its important parents take time to look after themselves too. If you are social care staff or co-parent with someone classed as a key worker, your children may still be able to go to school. Follow the Government’s most up to date advice.
5. Take breaks
Remember to take normal breaks, including your lunch break. Get up and move about, go for a short walk or make a coffee. Try setting a timer or alarm on your computer screen or mobile phone to remind you to take a break.
6. Connect with colleagues
Loneliness, disconnect, and isolation are common problems in remote work life, especially in the current uncertain and worrying situation. Making the effort to speak to your colleagues regularly can make a difference.
Conference calls, Zoom, Skype, and Microsoft Teams are all examples of how you can keep connected. Try to pick up the phone for a real conversation rather than relying on email or instant messaging all day. Video calls in particular can help you still feel connected to your colleagues.
7. Get some fresh air when you can
For those who need to self-isolate, opening the window may help you get as much fresh air as possible. Try to choose a spot with lot of natural light to work if you can.
Follow Government advice and do some exercise outside, even a short walk can benefit you both mentally and physically. Make sure to keep a distance from others when outside and be sure to wash your hands as soon as you return home.
8. Drink plenty of water
People get dehydrated when they sit, and if you’re heating is still on in your home, then you’ll need the extra water to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy.
To ensure that you are consuming a sufficient amount of water, keep bottles of water handy to make sure you drink your recommended 1.5-2 litres per day. You can also download apps on smartphone or tablet to remind you to drink regularly.
9. Stand up and stretch
Sitting all day isn’t healthy even if you’re at the office, but working from home means you skip your commute and have fewer reasons to get up from your chair throughout the day.
If it’s possible in the area you have set up for home working, try standing up to do your work for a change of pace. Standing uses more muscles and burns more calories than sitting and it’s good for your back and posture.
If you can’t stand and work, stretching is vital for maintaining good posture, especially when working at a desk for several hours a day. Try standing up every 30 minutes or so to stretch your chest and extend your spine to reverse the hunched position of sitting.
Standing and stretching can also help to reduce back and neck pain. Here are some suggestions to help you move and be mindful: a
Desk workout: 10 stretches to help ease aches and pains
10. Listen to music
If you find working from home to be a little too quiet, you miss the buzz of the office and find it difficult to focus, listen to music, turn on the radio, or put the TV on quietly in the background
11. End your day with a routine
Just like you should start your day with a routine, create a habit that signals the close of the workday. You might have a simple routine such as shutting down your computer and turning on a favourite podcast, or writing the next day’s to-do list.
Whatever you choose, do it consistently to mark the end of working hours. Put your work away or shut your laptop so you know you are back in your personal home time and place.
12. Reflect on your mental health
Ensure you take time to reflect on and try to be mindful of your mental health. Look out for changes in your feelings, practice self-care and be aware of any triggers or symptoms surrounding your mental health.
Make sure you keep in touch with support networks, even a text, phone call or video chat can make a difference.
For more ways to protect your mental health during these challenging times, check out our online information hub: www.samh.org.uk/coronavirus.
The National Cyber Security Centre is working hard to get more girls interested in a career in cyber security. The CyberFirst Girls Competition provides a fun but challenging environment to inspire the next generation of young women to consider a career in cyber security.
The competition is a team event, with each one made up of 4 female students from Year 8 in England and Wales, Year 9 in Northern Ireland and S2 in Scotland.
It consists of three distinct phases:
the online qualifying round to identify the top teams in each home nation and English region
the semi-final where teams will battle it out in their areas to qualify for a place in the Grand Final
the Grand Final where the top ten teams drawn from the regions in England, and from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will gather to compete for the title of UK CyberFirst Girls Competition Winners.
Whatever your ability, from beginner to expert, the CyberFirst Girls Competition is an opportunity to learn something new about cyber security.
1200 (noon) 25th January – 1200 (noon) 3rd February 2021 – online qualifying round
12th March 2021 – Home nations and English regions semi-final
26th April 2021 – Grand Final
We will be sticking to the same format as last year which seeks to encourage and recognise participation from all parts of the UK, whilst making some changes to ensure the competition can run in a Covid-secure way.
To begin with, there will be an online qualifier round lasting 10 days, followed by a semi-final round and a Grand Final.
The content for each category of the competition is consistent with subjects within the Computer Science syllabus from both the National Curriculum and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence.
However, the competition will contain some advanced cyber topics that are not covered in traditional education but will seek to stretch the lateral thinking and additional cyber knowledge of the teams.
What you need to know:
Teams can … register now! Registration opened on 30th November, and stays open until the qualifier closes on 3rd February 2021. We would recommend registering ahead of the online qualifier though.
Teams are……made up of up to four female students in Year 8, S2 or Year 9 (NI).
Teams need……to be supported by a responsible adult appointed by the school who is aged over 18 years and who can act as the team guardian.
Team guardians……do not need to have any cyber knowledge or be an IT or computer science teacher. Their role is to register the teams and facilitate access to the competition.
Schools can……enter as many teams as they like if they fit the qualifying criteria (see above).
The semi-final round…..will take place during the school day. Students will need to be taken off the day’s timetable should they qualify.
The Grand Final……will take place during the school day. Students will need to be taken off the day’s timetable should they qualify.
Following the latest coronavirus guidelines announced on Monday, Granton Information Centre staff are working from home and our office on West Granton Road will remain closed for the foreseeable future – BUT PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT WE ARE STILL OPERATING!
You can contact us by email at info@gic.org.uk or by calling 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458.
Any messages left on our answering machine will be dealt with as soon as possible – please ensure you clearly leave your full name and telephone number when leaving a message.
Let’s all play our part in keeping each other safe, stopping this terrible virus and getting life back to normal!
The British Liver Trust is calling for every person in the UK to consider their liver health and take a simple quiz to assess their risk during January after adults across the UK admit to making unhealthy lifestyle choices in 2020.
Over a million adults in the UK may currently have the early stages of liver disease but are unaware and have no symptoms.1,3. Worryingly, rising rates of obesity means that 150,000 children could also have non-alcohol related fatty liver disease.2
January is often a time that people take stock after the Christmas period but this year it is even more important as the numbers at risk have also increased during the Covid pandemic. Many people have increased their alcohol consumption and gained weight during lockdown – the two biggest risk factors for developing liver disease.
The British Liver Trust is calling for the nation to improve their liver health and find out more about the risk factors during National Love Your Liver month.
The charity has issued the stark warning after:
One in five adults are thought to be at risk due to either being overweight or drinking too much alcohol.3
4000 people in 2020 missed a free liver scan as the charities Love Your Liver Roadshow had to be cancelled.4
An analysis of previous years data indicates 650 of those would have shown signs of possible liver damage.
28% of people admitted to drinking more during lockdown.5
The charity is also launching a free new diet fact sheet which is packed full of tips on what to eat to improve your liver health:
Most liver disease can be prevented with simple lifestyle changes. More than 90% is due to three main risk factors: obesity, alcohol and viral hepatitis. The British Liver Trust’s Love Your Liver campaign focuses on three simple steps to improve your liver health: https://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/love-your-liver-screener
Drink less than 14 units of alcohol and have three consecutive days off alcohol every week
Eat a healthy diet and take more exercise
Know the risk factors for viral hepatitis and get tested or vaccinated if at risk. There are now highly effective cures for hepatitis
Before the pandemic, the Love Your Liver roadshows helped to raise awareness of the risk factors for liver disease among the general population.
Vanessa Hebditch, Director of Policy and Communications at the British Liver Trust says: “In early 2020, our Love Your Liver health screening roadshow was ready to tour the nation, offering free liver health checks to the general public at high streets up and down the county.
“Unfortunately, Covid-19 forced us to postpone the roadshow. That meant that around 4,000 people will have missed out on a free liver health check. If we look at the statistics from previous Roadshows, around 650 of those would have shown signs of possible liver damage.
“We are very concerned that while thousands will have missed out on valuable liver health advice, some of those people will already have undiagnosed liver disease which won’t show symptoms until the very late stages when treatment options are limited.
“2020 was a really stressful year for everyone. We know from our research that a lot of people drank more alcohol and ate unhealthier food last year – two major risk factors for liver disease. We also know that some people have missed out on appointments and treatment while healthcare resources have been diverted elsewhere as a result of the pandemic.”
Beth came to a Love Your Liver roadshow in 2019. She says: “I wasn’t sure what state my liver would be and it has always concerned me as I have often used alcohol to relieve stress throughout my life.
“I was nervous going in for the test when I saw the roadshow but knew that I needed to know the truth of what I was doing to my liver.
“It does take guts to have a liver scan and it was good to know the result gave me a chance to reflect and take some steps in my life to be stronger willed in making healthier choices.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference yesterday (Tuesday 5 January):
Good afternoon,
I want to update everybody about vaccines because across this entire country today there are people – everybody – making another huge sacrifice.
Teachers and pupils coping with online learning
Businesses who have borne the brunt of successive lockdowns,
and, of course, the amazing staff of our NHS and our care workers who are grappling with a new variant – this new variant – of coronavirus.
And I believe that when everybody looks at the position people understand overwhelmingly that we have no choice when the Office of National Statistics is telling us that more than 2 per cent of the population is now infected – that’s over 1 million people in England – and when today we have reported another 60,000 new cases. And when the number of patients in hospitals in England is now 40 per cent higher than at the first peak in April.
I think obviously – everybody, you all – want to be sure that we in government are now using every second of this lockdown to put that invisible shield around the elderly and the vulnerable in the form of vaccination and so to begin to bring this crisis to an end.
And I can tell you that this afternoon, with Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca combined, as of this afternoon we have now vaccinated over 1.1 million people in England and over 1.3 million across the UK.
And that includes more than 650,000 people over 80, which is 23 per cent of all the over 80s in England
And that means that nearly 1 in 4 of one of the most vulnerable groups will have in 2 to 3 weeks – all of them – a significant degree of immunity.
And when you consider that the average age of Covid fatalities is in the 80s you can see the importance of what we have already achieved.
And that is why I believe that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was right to draw up a programme aimed at saving the most lives the fastest.
So by February 15th, as I said last night, the NHS is committed to offering a vaccination to everyone in the top four priority groups including older care home residents and staff, everyone over 70, all frontline NHS and care staff and all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
And to help us with meeting this target we already have 595 GP-led sites providing vaccines, with a further 180 coming on stream later this week.
We have 107 hospital sites – with a further 100 later this week
So that is almost a thousand sites – vaccination sites – across the country by the end of this week
And next week we will also have 7 vaccination centres opening in places such as sports stadia and exhibition centres.
We know that there will still be long weeks ahead in which we must persevere with these restrictions, but I want to give you – the British people – the maximum possible transparency about this vaccine roll out with more detail on Thursday and daily updates from Monday so that you can see, day by day and jab by jab, how much progress we are making.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Tuesday 5 January 2021:
Good afternoon everyone and since this is the first media briefing of the new year let me wish all of you a happy new year. This year is having a very difficult start but we do hope that it will nevertheless bring better times ahead.
Now I’m going to say more in a few moments about the announcements that I set out in parliament yesterday. But as usual I will give you an update on today’s statistics first.
I can tell you that the total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 2,529.
That represents 14.8% of the total number of tests, and it means that the total number of confirmed cases that we now have in Scotland is139,027.
Analysis of PCR samples also shows that the new variant is now responsible for around 50% of new cases in Scotland – and that that is a proportion that is rising.
695 of the new cases today were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 388 in Lanarkshire, 322 in Lothian, and 210 in Tayside. The remaining cases are spread across eight other health board areas.
1,347 people are currently in hospital – now, we haven’t been reporting hospital and ICU figures over the New Year bank holiday period, but to give you some context for that figure today I can tell you that it is 255 more people in hospital now than was the case a week ago – exactly a week ago today.
And 93 people are in intensive care, and that is 28 more than a week ago today.
11 additional deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours, of patients who first tested positive in the previous 28 days. Of course, yesterday was a bank holiday so it is possible that this figure today is artificially low as a result of that.
But it means that the total number of deaths reported under this daily measurement, is now 4,633. And of course every single one of these deaths – I report them here on a daily basis as statistics – but every single one of those statistics represents a human being who has lost their lives to this virus and will have left behind grieving families and friends.
So again today, my condolences and thoughts go to every individual and family who is in that situation.
Now, I am joined today by the National Clinical Director, he is going to help me answer questions in a few moments. But before we get to questions, I would like to emphasise the key points that I set out yesterday in parliament.
Firstly, just to reiterate that the current situation that we face now in the pandemic is, in my view, more serious than it has been at any time since the spring.And that’s because this new more transmissible variant of Covid is becoming increasingly common as I said a moment ago.
And as a result of that, cases are rising much more steeply and rapidly than they had been in the latter part of last year; and as a result of that more people are likely to become seriously ill; and the health service will come under more severe pressure.
That of course is the negative – the worrying – position we face, and I don’t say it for exaggeration, I say it because we all must take that seriously right now.
But of course, there is a difference between now last spring, and that is a positive difference. And that of course is the fact that vaccines have been approved for use in the UK now and vaccines we know does offer us the way out of this pandemic.
More than a hundred thousand people in Scotland have already been vaccinated. And, as I set out in parliament yesterday, we expect – although these timetables are still tentative – that by May more than 2.5 million people will have received vaccination – at least the first dose of the vaccination.
That includes everyone on what is called the JCVI priority list – everyone over the age of 50, and people under 50 who have specific underlying health conditions.
Now we will do everything we can to speed that up to deliver vaccines as quickly as possible, and we will set out what our expectations are around that as the certainty we have on the flow of supplies becomes much firmer – I hope, in the days and weeks to come.
But in the race we currently face – and I am describing it deliberately as a race between the vaccine and the virus, because that really is in essence what it is – we can’t rely solely on speeding up vaccination.
That’s really important, but because this new variant is spreading so much more quickly we must also act as we vaccinate more people to slow the virus down so that the vaccination can get ahead and ultimately be in a position where it wins the race.
And, the new variant – because it is much easier to transmit, and spreads more quickly –means that slowing it down is more difficult and to achieve that takes much stricter restrictions than the ones that have been in place over the past few months.
And that is why we got to the position yesterday of announcing what is effectively a new lockdown.
And the key message we want to convey and are conveying and stressing very, very strongly is a simple message – not simple to abide by, but simple for me to communicate, and it’s a similar message to the one I communicated for much of last year and that is: stay at home.
Staying at home whenever possible is the best way now of protecting ourselves, protecting each other, protecting the NHS and – ultimately – saving lives.
There are of course specified essential purposes for which you can leave your house – these include exercise, essential shopping, providing care, perhaps for a vulnerable relative.
And because extended households are still permitted, to try and help us in some way tackle the loneliness and isolation of these restrictions, you can also leave your home to visit the other people in your extended household.
But fundamentally, I’m asking everybody to really try hard to stay at home as much as possible – and only leave home if it is for a genuinely essential purpose.
And that means that you must work from home if you can.
In fact, it is only permissible to leave home to go to work if you cannot work from home.
Now, businesses, employers have a big part to play in ensuring we achieve that. The Economy Secretary spoke to business organisations yesterday to reinforce this message.
And I want to be clear that we really need businesses in this next phase – as they have been throughout – to be responsible, to help us fight this virus.
And that means – just as this is true for individuals for the stay at home message – it means not always looking for the loophole that allows you to stay open or have your staff physically at work. Instead it means thinking about how you as a business can maximise your contribution to the collective challenge that we all now face.
And in return, government must do – and we will continue to do – all we can to maximise the financial support available to you.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has just announced this morning additional financial support for businesses, and we are over the course of the day trying to get clarity of the detail on that so that we then know what that enables us to do in addition to the considerable financial support for businesses that is already in place.
Returning to what lockdown means for all of us as individuals, we have also introduced tighter restrictions on outdoor socialising, because this virus we know is spreading more easily. So it is still possible to meet someone outdoors – but only two people from two households can now meet up – previously it was up to six people from two households, but now only two people from a maximum of two households.
That rule applies to everyone who is aged 12 and over – and that means that outdoor exercise should also only take place in groups of two, and no more than two households.
Now we announced several other significant restrictions yesterday – you can find full details of these on the Scottish Government website. And where there is a need for it we will put forward and publish additional guidance to help people navigate their way through this as well as we can.
Now one thing I want to mention specifically, because I know it is very distressing for many people – and that was the announcement yesterday that places of worship will close over this next period as well – except for funerals and weddings.
I know for people in faith communities who take great comfort from collective worship this is a particularly large restriction to bear. But we do deem it essential at the moment to help us with that overall task of keeping the virus, or getting the virus back under control.
But we will not keep these restrictions in place for any longer than necessary.
We have also, of course, regrettably decided that school and nursery buildings will only be open for children of key workers and vulnerable pupils until at least 1 February.
For that time, remote learning will continue for the majority of pupils, and this is without a doubt – I said this yesterday but it is worth repeating – the most difficult of the restrictions that we put in place yesterday. I know how tough it will be for pupils, who as well as missing education in the normal school environment will be missing your friends and the normal social aspect of growing up and enjoying your school life. And I am sorry about that and we will try and get you back to school as quickly as possible.
But this is also difficult for parents – particularly those who are working and who are trying to juggle online learning, and we are thinking about what more support we can put in place to help you through this difficult period.
The decision on schools will be reviewed fortnightly – and we will do everything we can to get as many pupils as possible back to school as soon as it is safe to do so.
But at the moment, the community transmission of the virus is too high, and still rising – and also there is some uncertainty about the impact of the new variant on young people, and those two things together lead us to the judgement that it is not safe enough to have schools open right now for the majority of pupils as normal.
Now, the measures that were announced yesterday that I’ve just run through here today are of course not the start to this year that any of us would have wanted.
They are really tough for businesses, for individuals – and as I have said at a couple of occasions already, we will consider what further support we are able to provide.
But the current figures, including those I have reported today, tell us that action is needed.
This new variant is so much more easily transmitted that without these tougher restrictions, cases in Scotland would definitely continue to rise very, very sharply.
And that, of course, creates the likelihood that more people get ill and die than would otherwise be the case, but it also creates the real risk that our National Health Service – which is currently coping, although the pressure on frontline staff is considerable – but it creates the real risk that it would instead be overwhelmed and perhaps quite quickly.
So by acting now, instead of waiting until things get more severe, we give ourselves the chance to avert the more serious challenge that is currently being faced in some other parts of the UK right now.
I know that doesn’t provide any comfort, and nor does it create any comfort for me to say that we are not alone – but we are not alone. People in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are waking up today to similar restrictions, and many other countries across Europe are in similar positions.
But, while this is hard for everybody to take we must hold on to the fact – and it is a fact – that we now have, in a way that we didn’t have last year, a clear route out of this pandemic through the vaccination programme.
And the Scottish Government will be doing everything we possibly can to accelerate, speed up that programme, and get the maximum number of people vaccinated as quickly as possible. But while we’re doing that, we absolutely must – all of us – collectively work to slow down this virus
That’s why these measures are essential and it’s why again I must ask everybody to really rigorously abide by all of these restrictions.
That means following the FACTS advice: wear face coverings; avoid crowded places when you are out of your house, which you shouldn’t be unless it is essential; wash your hands, wash hard surfaces, even when you are staying at home it’s really important still to do that; keep a two metre distancing when you’re out, from people in other households; and, of course self-isolate and get tested if you have symptoms.
These steps all still work, in breaking chains of this new variant and remain as important if not more so.
But fundamentally the most important thing – and the most difficult thing – I am asking everybody to do again is to stay at home.
Staying at home helps us control this virus. It helps us protect ourselves and each other. It helps us protect our NHS. And fundamentally, and ultimately, it helps us save lives.
And that, as we have all known all along, is really important. So my concluding message is the as it was back in March – because the situation we face now is as serious as the one we faced back in March.
So, please – Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives.
