The Council is working to minimise the impact of new temporary lockdown measures on services.
National restrictions for mainland Scotland, which require the public to stay at home, came into force at midnight on Monday (4 January). Following this we carried out a review of services which may be impacted by the new rules.
Other than the extended closure of schools, early learning and childcare throughout January with online learning in place, service changes outlined for level four, introduced on Boxing Day, will continue.
We will continue to keep service delivery and the use of Council buildings under review, responding to any changes in guidance. Full details of Council services affected by COVID restrictions are available on our website, which will be regularly updated.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This is an extremely difficult time for everyone, and we want to minimise any additional impact new restrictions will have on the services that residents rely on.
“Our main concern is keeping the public safe and supporting our most vulnerable citizens and we will continue to monitor and review our service delivery throughout lockdown to ensure this.
“I know postponing the return to school will pose a challenge for many but we’re working hard on our digital roll-out to make sure all children have access to learning resources while we’ll keep providing free school meals throughout January.
“We’ll also continue to support local businesses, processing business grants and seeking clarification from Government on any further funding available. Getting out and about for daily exercise will be key to coping over the coming weeks so I’m pleased that our parks and playparks will remain open during this time too.
“We must not lose sight of the goal here – we have already worked so hard to combat the spread of COVID-19. We must keep this collective effort up in the face of a new, virulent strain of the virus if we are to keep one another safe and, eventually, see our communities recover from this crisis.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: The introduction of a lockdown across the country demonstrates just how dangerous the situation is and we must take heed. It’s crucial that we listen to the advice of public health experts if we are to minimise the impact of COVID, and that means sticking to the guidance.
We know we can look forward to better times in 2021, with the ongoing roll-out of vaccines around the world. But right now we must act decisively and stay at home, except for essential purposes, to keep the rate of infection down and to protect the NHS, which we need so much at this time.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many individuals, families and businesses who have observed restrictions over the last year, and for their continued adherence to the rules – together we can get through this. We’ll be updating our website with any service changes under lockdown, so keep an eye on our Coronavirus pages.
Find out more about services affected by COVID on the city council website.
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