City council Environment Convener Cllr Lesley Macinnes comments on work to grit roads, footpaths and cycleways in the Capital as icy conditions continue:
She reported yesterday: “Like many other areas of Scotland, our staff have been working tirelessly and as quickly as possible to tackle the ice which set in after showers of freezing rain overnight.
“We gritted all priority routes last night (Sunday) which includes routes to hospitals, bus routes and other areas that most need it. We did this again today and we are gritting category two and three routes now that the easing in conditions has allowed us to do this.
“We have thousands of roads and footpaths/cycleways in Edinburgh and it also hasn’t helped that due to very low temperatures grit on footpaths and cycleways will take longer to be ground into ice than on roads so as low temperatures continue please take extra care if you need to be out and about.
“Our staff will continue to work round the clock to grit as much as we can while this cold snap continues. My thanks too to all the residents who’ve been out gritting local neighbourhood streets – we’re filling grit bins up again as quickly as we can and we’re deploying additional resource from other services to help us to do this over the course of the coming week.”
Trinity Academy pupil kicks off 2021 facing 1042 miles on the road
#Bens100days
My name is Ben Liddall and I am 17 years old. I am attempting to run a total of 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 for MND Scotland and the My Names Doddie foundation.
On July 15th, 2020 I was involved in a cycling accident and as a result, received a serious concussion. It was made clear to me that it could have gone a lot worse and I got off incredibly lucky.
As part of my recovery, I was confined to bed for 2 weeks, with no technology, no exercise, and no strain. This gave me a lot of time to think without distraction and I decided that within 4 weeks of my recovery I would run my first marathon. I had never run long distance before, my main form of exercise was rugby, but after intense training, on August 25th, in amongst a storm, I ran my first marathon.
I then realised this was something I was passionate about and that I enjoyed, but also something I realised I could use to help others. I decided to set myself a new goal – run 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 in support of the My Names Doddie foundation and MND Scotland.
Why 1042 miles? Well, one of my main passions is rugby and I would be running this distance around the time of the 6 Nations and also in support of Doddie so I decided to run the distance of Murrayfield, to the Aviva in Dublin, to the Principality in Wales, to Twickenham in England, and back to Murrayfield which is … you guessed it, 1042 miles!
This means I will be running around 10.42 miles every day, sometimes more sometimes less, and finishing on April 10th, 2021.
I would appreciate any donation no matter how big or small to help the ongoing battle against MND.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is the general name given to a group of illnesses which affect the body’s motor nerves – these are called motor neurones. MND is a progressive, incurable illness.
In a healthy person, the motor neurones carry signals from the brain directly to the muscles. However, MND stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. Therefore, over time muscles weaken and eventually stop working.
It is important to remember that not everyone is affected by MND in the same ways. Every case of MND takes its own course, but the disease may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.
Some people may also experience changes in their behaviour, personality and the way they think. This may affect their ability to plan tasks on a daily basis and how they communicate with others. A small number of people may experience severe changes which are associated with a type of Dementia, called Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
Any money donated to either MND Scotland, or My Names Doddie will be used to help people affected by MND in Scotland, and will help fund practical, financial, and emotional services throughout Scotland, including; one-to-one counselling, benefits advice, complementary therapy, a loan of our communications equipment, support groups and more. You’ll also be funding vital research, in Scotland, to help take us a step closer to finding a cure for this devastating illness.
As part of the ongoing regeneration programme around MacMillan Square, North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) has now been granted full community ownership in a community asset transfer from the City of Edinburgh Council, with the additional transfer of a plot of land to the north of the centre.
We are now working in partnership with the Council to create plans for an extended creative and community hub for the area, to be named the MacMillan Hub.
The objective is to create a community and neighbourhood hub promoting culture, learning, work and well-being in and around the town centre. Everyone at NEA is excited about the possibilities this will bring to our community.
The plans include:
a refurbished and redesigned North Edinburgh Arts venue promoting the highest quality culture, arts and meeting space
a new Muirhouse Library
a new Learning and Skills Hub
a new Early Years Centre
housing for rent
NEA is already a well loved destination for locals but has outgrown its building. To meet the needs for future generations we need to redevelop as part of this new Hub. To find out more about our plans view the film below.
You can download Draft Plans-October 2020 to see draft plans, building visualisations and more information about proposed plans.
The plans ensure the accessible, welcoming and much needed community space, using environment-friendly build and innovative design techniques. The community space will reflect current community aspirations, while being flexible enough to respond to unplanned future demand.
Award winning Richard Murphy Architects have been appointed by Robertson and with the Council and NEA to design the MacMillan Hub. Working together with a view to submitting a joint detailed planning permission in December 2020 to start the build in 2021 and open in the summer of 2022.
Police Scotland has released images of a man and woman they believe may be able to assist with an ongoing investigation which relates to a housebreaking that occurred between 23 and 24 November 202 in the Drylaw area.
Officers believe that the man and woman shown in the images may be able to assist with their enquiries.
Detective Constable James Palmer said: “I would appeal to anyone who has any information or who recognises the people in the image to contact us. Any small piece of information could assist us in our enquiries.”
“If anyone recognises the people in the images or has any information regarding the incident, please contact officers at the Community Investigation Unit in Corstorphine via 101, quoting incident number 0099 of the 24th November 2020.
Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.”
The Prime Minister has announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
The decision follows a rapid rise in infections, hospital admissions and case rates across the country, and hospitals are now under more pressure than they have been at any other point throughout the pandemic.
This drastic jump in cases has been attributed to the new variant of COVID-19, which our scientists have now confirmed is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible.
On 4 January, there were 26,626 Covid patients in hospital in England, an increase of over 30% in one week, and the April 2020 hospital admissions peak has now been surpassed by 40%.
The case rate in England up to 29 December was 478.5 per 100k, three times higher than on 1 December when the case rate was 151.3.
On 3 Jan, 454 deaths were reported, with 4,228 over the last 7 days – a 24% increase on the previous 7 days.
Yesterday afternoon, the four UK Chief Medical Officers advised that the COVID threat level should move from level four to level five, indicating that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.
The Prime Minister praised everyone’s collective efforts to get this virus under control, emphasising the great national effort to fight Covid. Despite this, the pressure on our NHS, rapidly rising infection rates and hospital admissions due to the new variant mean that another national lockdown is sadly necessary.
From today (Tuesday), people in England will only be allowed to leave their homes for the following reasons:
shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person.
go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home.
exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one.
seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse).
attend education or childcare – for those eligible.
From today, all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges will move to remote learning, except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
While children are still very unlikely to be severely affected by COVID-19, the government recognises that schools must be included in the restrictions in order to have the best chance of getting the virus under control as schools can act as vectors of transmission, causing the virus to spread between households when rates are high.
Schools will be required to provide remote education for those learning at home.
Early years settings such as nurseries, alternative provision and special schools will remain open and vulnerable children and children of critical workers can continue to use registered childcare, childminders and other childcare activities.
The UK government is also advising the clinically extremely vulnerable to begin shielding again, and letters will be sent to individuals with advice on what this means for them.
All non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care services must close, or remain closed. Restaurants can continue delivery, takeaway or click-and-collect of food and non-alcoholic drinks, but venues will no longer be able to serve takeaway or click-and-collect alcohol.
Essential shops and garden centres can remain open. Entertainment venues and animal attractions such as zoos must close, but the outdoor areas of venues such as heritage homes and botanical gardens can remain open, to be used for exercise. Playgrounds may also remain open.
Places of worship can also remain open, but you may only visit with your household.
Indoor and outdoor sports facilities including sports courts, gyms, golf courses, swimming pools, and riding arenas must also close. Elite sport and disabled sport can continue, as can PE lessons for those children attending school.
The restrictions will come into effect tomorrow (Tuesday 5 January), and are expected to last until the middle of February if the situation in hospitals improve. By this point, the NHS hopes to have vaccinated everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the JCVI – including older care home residents and staff, everyone over 70, all frontline NHS and care staff and all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
Vaccinating the most vulnerable will protect those at highest risk from COVID-19 and this will remove a significant amount of the pressure currently facing the NHS.
Based on the latest available data, the UK has vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined and we will continue to accelerate our vaccination programme at pace.
Everyone should follow the new rules from now, and they will become law in England from 00.01 on Wednesday. The Westminster Parliament will sit, largely remotely, on Wednesday to debate and vote on the measures.
The full details on what you can and cannot do in England are available here.
PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS TO THE NATION
Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation last night:
Since the pandemic began last year, the whole United Kingdom has been engaged in a great national effort to fight Covid.
And there is no doubt that in fighting the old variant of the virus, our collective efforts were working and would have continued to work.
But we now have a new variant of the virus. It has been both frustrating and alarming to see the speed with which the new variant is spreading.
Our scientists have confirmed this new variant is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible – that means you are much, much more likely to catch the virus and to pass it on.
As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic.
In England alone, the number of Covid patients in hospitals has increased by nearly a third in the last week, to almost 27,000.
That number is 40 per cent higher than the first peak in April.
On 29 December, more than 80,000 people tested positive for Covid across the UK – a new record.
The number of deaths is up by 20 per cent over the last week and will sadly rise further. My thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones.
With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out.
In England, we must therefore go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to contain this variant.
That means the Government is once again instructing you to stay at home.
You may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law, such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance such as getting a Covid test, or to escape domestic abuse.
The full details on what you can and can’t do will be available at gov.uk/coronavirus.
If you are clinically extremely vulnerable, we are advising you to begin shielding again and you will shortly receive a letter about what this means for you.
And because we now have to do everything we possibly can to stop the spread of the disease, primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across England must move to remote provision from tomorrow, except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.
Everyone will still be able to access early years settings such as nurseries.
We recognise that this will mean it is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal. The Education Secretary will work with Ofqual to put in place alternative arrangements.
We will provide extra support to ensure that pupils entitled to free school meals will continue to receive them while schools are closed, and we’ll distribute more devices to support remote education.
I completely understand the inconvenience and distress this late change will cause millions of parents and pupils up and down the country.
Parents whose children were in school today may reasonably ask why we did not take this decision sooner.
The answer is simply that we have been doing everything in our power to keep schools open, because we know how important each day in education is to children’s life chances.
And I want to stress that the problem is not that schools are unsafe for children – children are still very unlikely to be severely affected by even the new variant of Covid.
The problem is that schools may nonetheless act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households.
Today the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers have advised that the country should move to alert level 5, meaning that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.
Of course, there is one huge difference compared to last year.
We are now rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in our history.
So far, we in the UK have vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined.
With the arrival today of the UK’s own Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, the pace of vaccination is accelerating.
I can share with you tonight the NHS’s realistic expectations for the vaccination programme in the coming weeks.
By the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails, we expect to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
That means vaccinating all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, everyone over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable.
If we succeed in vaccinating all those groups, we will have removed huge numbers of people from the path of the virus.
And of course, that will eventually enable us to lift many of the restrictions we have endured for so long.
I must stress that even if we achieve this goal, there remains a time lag of two to three weeks from getting a jab to receiving immunity.
And there will be a further time lag before the pressure on the NHS is lifted.
So we should remain cautious about the timetable ahead.
But if our understanding of the virus doesn’t change dramatically once again…
If the rollout of the vaccine programme continues to be successful…
If deaths start to fall as the vaccine takes effect…
And, critically, if everyone plays their part by following the rules…
Then I hope we can steadily move out of lockdown, reopening schools after the February half term and starting, cautiously, to move regions down the tiers.
I want to say to everyone right across the United Kingdom that I know how tough this is, I know how frustrated you are, I know that you have had more than enough of government guidance about defeating this virus.
But now more than ever, we must pull together.
You should follow the new rules from now, and they will become law in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Parliament will meet – largely remotely – later that day.
I know that the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland share my conviction this is a pivotal moment and they’re taking similar steps.
The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but I really do believe that we are entering the last phase of the struggle.
Because with every jab that goes into our arms, we are tilting the odds against Covid and in favour of the British people.
And, thanks to the miracle of science, not only is the end in sight and we know exactly how we will get there.
But for now, I am afraid, you must once again stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
With a new national lockdown announced to combat rising case numbers, Council leaders have called on Edinburgh residents to do their utmost to help bring COVID19 rates down.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This is obviously a very concerning situation for the whole country, perhaps the most precarious position we’ve been in since the pandemic first took hold in Scotland in early 2020.
“Everyone has sacrificed so much already in our collective fight against this virus but as the new strain is now accounting for almost half of all new cases, we need to act decisively.
Edinburgh residents and businesses have demonstrated extraordinary resilience throughout this crisis and we face more very difficult weeks ahead. I know we’ve got what it takes to pull together once again and keep ourselves and each other safe. The more we stick together on this, the faster we’ll bring the spread under control to keep our communities safe.
“We’re actively reviewing all relevant council services in light of today’s announcement and will provide further updates to residents and businesses as soon as we’re able. Our focus will remain on providing the best support we can to those most in need across the Capital.
“We’ll be speaking to partners over the next hours and days and will be sharing information when details are finalised on the dedicated COVID pages on our website and through our social media channels.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “New Year is always a hopeful time of year and with the vaccines being rolled out nationwide we can all draw comfort from the prospect of a return to a more normal way of life later in 2021. We’ll get to that point more quickly, though, if we put in the effort now to really minimise our risk of transmitting or picking up the virus.
“Please stay at home except for essential purposes and help protect the NHS, who are going through such an incredibly difficult period right now – and it looks set to worsen in the coming weeks. We need to follow the public health guidance and get this right.
“I want to offer my thanks in advance to all the frontline workers in health, retail, essential transport, core Council services and other sectors who help keep us all going through these extremely tough times.”
From tomorrow, mainland Scotland will move from Level 4 to a temporary Lockdown, with new guidance to stay at home except for essential purposes.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the following statement to Parliament this afternoon:
I’m grateful to you, Presiding Office for this recall of Parliament today. And I want to wish you, members, and everyone watching, all the best for a new year that we hope – despite a very difficult start – will bring better times.
The Cabinet met this morning to assess the up to date Covid situation – which is extremely serious – and discuss what further action is necessary to minimise further spread of the virus. I will set out our decisions shortly.
However, I can confirm now, in summary, that we decided to introduce from midnight tonight for the duration of January, a legal requirement to stay at home except for essential purposes. This is similar to the lockdown of March last year.
However, before I set out Cabinet’s decisions in more detail, I want to explain in some detail why they are so necessary.
In the last few weeks, there have been two significant game changers in our fight against this virus.
One, the approval of vaccines, is hugely positive and offers us the way out of this pandemic.
But the other – the new faster spreading variant of the virus – is a massive blow.
Possibly the most simple way of explaining the challenge we face right now is to compare it to a race.
In one lane we have vaccines – our job is to make sure they can run as fast as possible. That’s why the government will be doing everything we can to vaccinate people as quickly as possible. I will say more about that later.
But in the other lane is the virus which – as a result of this new variant – has just learned to run much faster and has most definitely picked up pace in the last couple of weeks.
To ensure that the vaccine wins the race, it is essential to speed up vaccination as far as possible. But to give it the time it needs to get ahead, we must also slow the virus down.
And because it is now spreading faster, that means even tougher restrictions are necessary.
The evidence is now compelling that the new variant is up to 70% more transmissible than previously circulating strains, and that it may add as much as 0.7 to the R number.
And according to recent analysis of PCR test samples, it appears that the new variant already accounts for almost half of all new cases in Scotland. That increased and faster spread is undoubtedly driving the very serious situation we now face.
Today’s case numbers – 1,905 new cases, with 15% of tests being positive – illustrate the severity and urgency of the situation.
No new deaths were reported today – because yesterday was a Sunday and registration offices were largely closed – but since I updated Parliament before Christmas, 289 deaths have been recorded in the daily figures. That again reminds us of the continuing grief this pandemic is causing.
But this is not just about one day’s numbers.
We are now seeing a steeply rising trend of infections.
Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that I am more concerned about the situation we face now than I have been at any time since March last year.
In the week from 23 to 30 December, the seven day incidence of cases per 100,000 of the population increased by 65% – from 136 per 100,000 to 225 per 100,000.
Test positivity has risen sharply too.
The next update on the numbers of Covid patients in hospital and intensive care will be published tomorrow.
I would expect these to show that, nationally, the total number of Covid patients in hospital is close to its April peak. And in some boards, the pressure is already very real.
For example, in terms of hospital beds, NHS Ayrshire and Arran is currently at 96% of its Covid capacity, and three other health boards – Borders, Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Lanarkshire – are above 60% of their capacity.
The number of people in intensive care is still significantly lower than the April peak – which partly reflects the fact that treatment of Covid has improved significantly since last spring.
But even so, the total number of patients in intensive care in Scotland is already above normal winter levels. Indeed, all mainland health boards have now exceeded their normal intensive care unit capacity.
And it is important to be clear that people who are in hospital and ICU now are likely to have been infected 10 days to 2 weeks ago.
That means that these numbers reflect what the level of new cases was around 2 weeks ago.
Given that the number of cases has increased significantly since then, we can expect to see significantly increased pressure on the NHS over the course of this month.
Contingency plans remain in place to double and then treble ICU capacity if necessary.
And the NHS Louisa Jordan continues to be available to help meet demand – as indeed it has been doing in recent months. 12,000 patients have attended there for scans and outpatient appointments; nearly 5,000 NHS staff and students have been trained there; and it is currently being used for Covid vaccinations.
In short, NHS services are coping at present – although the pressure on frontline staff is considerable – but already in some areas the position is fragile, and getting more challenging.
And if the rate of increase in case numbers that we have seen in past two weeks was to continue unchecked, there would be a real risk of our NHS being overwhelmed – even with contingency plans in place.
In fact, our modelling suggests that without further intervention, we could breach inpatient Covid capacity within 3 or 4 weeks.
And, of course, a sharply increasing number of cases, in human terms, means many more people becoming ill and dying. All of that explains why we have to act quickly and decisively.
The situation in some other parts of the UK – where case numbers are already much higher than here, and where the contribution of the new variant is already greater – shows what may lie ahead if we don’t.
As things stand, we estimate that we are possibly about four weeks behind the position in London and the south east.
The rapid acceleration in London began when it was at about 160 new cases a week, for every hundred thousand people. That’s the level Scotland was at a week ago.
London is now seeing 900 new cases a week per 100,000. Test positivity is around 27%. And pressure on NHS services is acute.
We have an opportunity in Scotland to avert the situation here deteriorating to that extent.
But we must act quickly.
The advice of our clinical advisers is clear that the increased transmissibility of the new variant means that the current level 4 measures may not be sufficient to bring the R number back below 1.
It is essential that we further limit interaction between different households to stem the spread and bring the situation back under control, while we vaccinate more people.
In short, we must return for a period to a situation much closer to the lockdown of last March.
Let me therefore set out in more detail the decisions Cabinet has reached.
It is important to stress that these are not decisions taken lightly. I am acutely aware of the impact they will have and I know they will not be welcome.
But they are in our judgment essential.
As government, our clear and overriding duty right now is to act quickly to save lives and protect the NHS.
We know that delay or prevarication in the face of this virus almost always makes things worse not better – even if it stems from an understandable desire that we all share to wait for more data or evidence.
To turn to the decisions in detail. The decisions I will speak about a bit later on schools, let me be clear at this stage, they will apply to all parts of Scotland. However other decisions that I will outline will apply to those parts of Scotland currently at level 4, which of course is all of mainland Scotland, and they are effectively an enhancement to level 4.
The island areas currently in level 3 will remain there for now, although we will continue to monitor them very carefully.
These additional level 4 restrictions – essentially returning us to a position similar to the lockdown of last March – will be in place for the whole of January. We will keep them closely under review.
However, I cannot at this stage rule out keeping them in place longer, nor making further changes. Nothing about this is easy.
The first measure is that our fundamental advice, for everyone, is to stay at home.
That is the single best way of staying safe.
We consider that this stay at home message and advice is now so important that, from tomorrow, it will become law, just as it was in the lockdown last year.
This means it will only be permissible to leave home for an essential purpose.
This will include, for example, caring responsibilities, essential shopping, exercise and being part of an extended household.
In addition, anyone who is able to work from home, must do so. It will only be a reasonable excuse to leave your home to go to work, if that work cannot be done from home.
We are asking people and businesses to take this really seriously – as we all did in March, during the first lockdown, – because the situation is at least as serious now as it was then.
The law already requires many businesses in certain sectors to close in Level 4. We now need every business to look again at their operations, and to make sure that every single function that can be done by people working at home, is being done in that way.
Businesses have already shown a tremendous capacity to adapt during this pandemic and I’m very grateful to them for that – and we need them to consider their operations again, as we all work together to reduce transmissions.
The Economy Secretary will be speaking to business organisations about this, including this afternoon. We will also engage with unions on these issues. And we will continue to consider if more regulatory action is required.
We are also providing new guidance for people who are in the shielding category.
If you were shielding and you cannot work from home, our clear advice now is that you should not go into work at all.
The Chief Medical Officer is writing to everyone who falls into this category, and his letter will count as a Fit Note for those who need it.
Unlike the lockdown last year, the frequency of outdoor exercise is not being limited.
It is important for physical and mental health that we can get outdoors for fresh air and exercise as much as possible.
However, from tomorrow, the rule on outdoor gatherings will change.
As of now, up to six people from two households are able to meet outdoors. Given the greater transmissibility of this new variant, we consider it necessary to restrict that further.
From tomorrow, a maximum of two people from up to two households will be able to meet outdoors.
Children aged 11 and under will not be counted in that limit, and they will also be able to play outdoors in larger groups, including in organized gatherings.
However, for everyone else – including 12 to 17 year olds – outdoor exercise should only take place in a way which is consistent with the 2 people from 2 households rule.
In addition, strict travel restrictions remain in place across Scotland. From tomorrow, if you live in a level 4 area – as the majority of us do – you cannot leave your home except for an essential purpose. When you do go out, stay as close to home as possible and stay away from crowded places.
And it remains the case – and let me stress this point – that no-one is allowed to travel into or out of Scotland unless it is for an essential purpose.
Presiding Officer, a number of other measures will come into effect on Friday of this week.
It is with real regret that we consider it necessary for places of worship to close during this period for all purposes except broadcasting a service, or conducting a funeral, wedding or civil partnership.
I am well aware of how important communal worship is to people.
But we believe that this restriction is necessary to reduce the risk of transmission.
While up to 20 people will still be able to attend funeral services, wakes will not be possible during January. And a maximum of 5 people will be able to attend wedding and civil partnership services.
Presiding Officer, I know how devastating restrictions like these are and I give an assurance that we will not keep them in place for longer than is absolutely necessary.
There will also be additional measures in relation to businesses, in addition to the tightening of the essential retail definition that took effect from Boxing Day.
The current 1 metre exemption for workplace canteens will end – so canteens will have to ensure that employees sit 2 metres or more apart, rather than 1 metre.
The number of non-essential services which remain open will be further restricted.
Premises which will need to close as a result of these changes will include, for example ski centres, showrooms of larger retailers, and clinics offering cosmetic and aesthetic procedures.
I know that many businesses have already been hit by the restrictions which were put in place on Boxing Day.
And of course I know that the vast majority of businesses have taken their responsibilities seriously, and have invested in Covid safety measures.
In addition, the move to home working has brought challenges for workers and employers. I am hugely grateful for the way in which businesses and their staff have responded to those challenges.
Grants are of course available for businesses required to close as a result of restrictions. That support is in addition to support through the UK wide furlough scheme.
The Scottish Government’s financial support for businesses during the pandemic currently totals more than £2.3 billion.
However, we will continue to assess what more the Scottish government can do – either in closure grants or other forms of support – to help businesses and those who work for them.
We will also work with councils to ensure community and social support for those who need it, including for parents balancing work and online learning. We will confirm additional resources later this week.
Presiding Officer, The final substantive issue I want to address – before giving an update on vaccination – relates to schools.
We announced before Christmas that most school pupils would learn remotely – rather than in school – until Monday 18 January.
I can confirm that we have now decided to extend that date and keep schools closed to the majority of pupils until 1 February. We will review this again in mid-January.The change will apply to all pupils – except vulnerable children, and children of key workers. And it includes nursery schools, as well as primary and secondary schools.
There is no doubt that of all the difficult decisions we have had to take today, this was the most difficult of all and its impact is of course the most severe.
The evidence to date makes clear that thanks to the hard work of school staff and pupils, schools in Scotland have been low-risk environments for Covid. We will work with our partners to ensure that remains the case.
That will include ongoing work on testing in schools and discussions about when, in the context of the overall programme, it will be possible to vaccinate school staff.
And I want to be clear that it remains our priority to get school buildings open again for all pupils as quickly as possible and then keep them open.
However, right now, two factors mean that it is not consistent with a safety-first approach for all children to attend school in person.
First, the overall level of community transmission is simply too high. We need to get transmission down before schools can safely reopen. A period of online learning will also, in turn, help us do that.
The second reason is that there is still significant uncertainty about the impact of the new variant on transmission amongst young people.
We therefore have to adopt a cautious approach at this stage.
So most pupils will be learning online for at least the rest of the month.
We will review on 18 January whether they can – as we hope – return to school on the 1 February.
I know that remote learning presents significant challenges for teachers, schools, parents and young people, and we will work to support children and parents throughout this.
The Scottish Government, Education Scotland and local authorities are working together to further improve the remote learning options which are available for schools.
And it is also worth highlighting that since schools returned after the summer, more than 50,000 devices – such as laptops – have been distributed to children and young people to help with remote learning. More devices are being distributed by councils on a weekly basis, and in total we expect our investment –which builds on existing local authority action – to benefit around 70,000 disadvantaged children and young people across Scotland.
I also want to stress one final point.
Just as the last places we ever want to close are schools and nurseries – so it is the case that schools and nurseries will be the first places we want to reopen as we re-emerge from this latest lockdown.
They remain our priority.
That is why we are considering whether and to what extent – consistent with our overall duty to vaccinate the most vulnerable first in line with JCVI recommendations – we can achieve vaccination of school and childcare staff as a priority. Many teachers will of course be vaccinated over coming weeks as part of the JCVI priority list.
The fortnightly review will not simply be a choice between opening and closing schools – we will always seek to maximise the number of pupils we can safely get back to classrooms and nurseries.
So if the evidence tells us we can get some pupils back safely, we will do that.
However ultimately, the best way of enabling more pupils to return more quickly is by reducing community transmission of the virus as much as possible. And all of us – by accepting and abiding by the wider restrictions I have set out today – have a part to play in achieving that.
Before I leave the issue of education, let me remind the chamber that we already had plans in place for the staggered return of universities and colleges. We will be considering this week whether any further change is necessary.
Presiding Officer, Before I close today, I want to give a brief update on our current expectations around vaccine supply.
The Health Secretary will give a more detailed update on vaccination in a statement the chamber next week.
However, I can confirm today that well over 100,000 people have now received their first dose of the vaccine.
The first doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine are being administered today.
In total, over the period to the end of January – including the more than 100,000 already administered – we expect to have access to just over 900,000 doses of vaccine. Obviously, we hope that increases.
These will be split roughly equally between the Pfizer and Astra Zeneca vaccines.
However, we anticipate that some of the Astra Zeneca portion will be available only in the last week of January.
We do not yet have certainty on supply schedules beyond January but will keep Parliament updated as these become firmer.
However, our current expectation, based on assumptions about supply and the new advice on doses being administered up to 12 weeks apart, rather than 3, is that by early May everyone over 50, and people under 50 with specific underlying conditions, will have received at least the first dose of vaccine.
That is everyone who is on the JCVI priority list, and comprises more than 2.5 million people.
Once everyone on the priority list has been vaccinated, we will start vaccinating the rest of the population, and will do this in parallel with completing second doses for those on the priority list.
Those timetables are of course heavily dependent on vaccine supply. And for that reason, they are at this stage cautious.
However, I have tasked our vaccination team with exploring and keeping under ongoing review all options to speed up the rate of vaccination and bring these timescales forward as far as possible.
I am grateful for the many offers of assistance we have received and while many of them may not prove possible or practical to take up, they will be considered
The Health Secretary will say more about all of this in her statement next week.
Presiding Officer, To conclude, this is most certainly not the new year statement I wanted to give. And I know it is a statement no one wanted to hear.
But as I said at the beginning, we are now in a race between the vaccine and the virus.
The Scottish government will do everything we can to speed up distribution of the vaccine.
But all of us must do everything we can to slow down the spread of the virus.
We can already see – by looking at infection rates elsewhere – some of what could happen here in Scotland if we don’t act.
To prevent that, we need to act immediately and firmly.
For government, that means introducing tough measures – as we have done so today.
And for all of us, it means sticking to the rules
It means continuing to follow the FACTS guidance
And it means – above all – staying at home.
That is again our central message.
Stay Home. Save lives. Protect the NHS.
If we do this, we give the vaccine the time it needs to get ahead and ultimately win the race.
I know that the next few weeks will be incredibly difficult.
I’m sorry to ask for further sacrifices, after nine long months of them. But these sacrifices are necessary.
And the difference between now and last March is that with the help of vaccines, we now have confidence that these sacrifices will pave the way to brighter days ahead. So – for everyone’s sake and safety – please stick with it and stay at home.
Over 5,000 Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed to support the response to the Coronavirus across the UK, working on 70 different tasks ranging from schools testing to the rollout of vaccines.
This is more than at any previous point in the pandemic and the biggest homeland operation the UK has ever seen in peacetime. Thousands more are supporting efforts through their day jobs in military planning, Defence Medical Services, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories and elsewhere.
More military personnel are being deployed to support community testing in:
Manchester – 800 personnel providing community testing support to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Kent – 390 personnel will support community testing
Swadlincote, Derbyshire – 130 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
Kirklees, Yorkshire – 75 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
Lancashire – 420 personnel to support asymptomatic testing
Another large scale task starts in Manchester today, with 800 personnel deploying from nine regiments across the British Army at the request of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
These personnel will prepare to work across all ten local authority areas of Greater Manchester to carry out targeted asymptomatic testing of specific populations that may be at a higher risk of infection including social care staff, key workers, public facing occupations such as bus drivers, and those in high risk environments such care homes and shared accommodation for the homeless.
The task builds on lessons from previous asymptomatic community testing in Liverpool, Lancashire, Merthyr Tydfil, Medway, and Kirklees.
In addition to community testing, military personnel remain on-task testing hauliers in Dover and helping to establish ten new testing sites to improve the flow of traffic across the Channel. As of today, 515 personnel are on task in Kent and elsewhere providing testing to hauliers.
1,500 Armed Forces personnel have also been provided to support schools testing, with local response teams providing virtual support and phone advice to institutions. Personnel also on standby to deploy at short notice to provide in-person support. Testing will continue as planned with two rapid Lateral Flow Tests available to all secondary school and college students and staff at the start of term to identify asymptomatic cases, break chains of transmission and beat the virus.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The new year will see new levels of Armed Forces support to overcoming this pandemic. Thousands of service personnel are working throughout the United Kingdom, wherever they are needed to assist the civil authorities.
“Manchester is the latest of those tasks and will be an important contribution to protecting the highest risk groups as the city seeks to recover. As a North West MP I am acutely aware of the considerable time many of us have been labouring under some form of lockdown and I hope our soldiers will help us get to the day when these restrictions will start to lift.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are enormously grateful to the Armed Forces for lending their support to these important community testing programmes. Around one in three people with coronavirus showing no symptoms, asymptomatic testing is crucial to identifying those who might be unknowingly infected, and protecting our most vulnerable.
“These community testing schemes are part of a national testing programme with millions of lateral flow tests arriving in schools tomorrow, for the testing of students and staff, to add to the hundreds of thousands of asymptomatic tests currently being conducted in care homes, across the NHS and in critical infrastructure workplaces and food manufacturers.
“While the Army, alongside thousands of medical professionals and volunteers, help roll out the vaccination programme, we must remember that the first line of defence against the virus remains to wash our hands, cover our faces and keep space.”
Lt Gen Sir Tyrone Urch KBE, Commander Standing Joint Commander UK said: “I am incredibly proud of all the servicemen and women who have worked tirelessly for most of this year on Operation RESCRIPT, the military effort in support of the government’s campaign to tackle COVID-19.
“In recent weeks, our amazing staff have deployed at short notice to set up and staff community testing centres across the country in support of the NHS, DHSC, Devolved Nations and local communities.
“They have conducted a successful testing pilot in schools and contributed to vaccine rollout planning. Both Regular and Reservist personnel stepped up on Christmas Eve to help clear the backlog of trucks in Kent, setting up testing facilities overnight when they would otherwise have been spending the festive period with their families.
“I am humbled by the sacrifice and dedication of all our people from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force as we continue to contribute to our nation’s fight against the coronavirus.”
The MoD has deployed 10 military planners to assist the Vaccine Task Force, with over 150 personnel deployed across the UK to support organisational and logistical components of the Deployment Programme.
Two separate military planners are seconded to support the Vaccine Task Force Director. Additionally, 20 personnel are assisting with regional vaccine planning, end-to-end logistics and delivery.
From 11th January a Vaccine Quick Reaction Force is being established, with their training for the role beginning today. This will initially be 21 teams of six personnel assigned to the seven NHS England regions, able to provide surge support to the vaccine roll-out if required by local health authorities.
In Scotland, military planners are supporting the testing and vaccine programmes.
Earlier during the pandemic Armed Forces personnel supported healthcare professionals to deliver testing at Glasgow Airport, and RAF Puma helicopters were deployed to Kinloss Barracks in Moray to provide emergency assistance to NHS boards and trusts across Scotland.
In Wales, 90 service personnel are deployed to support Health Boards in rapidly establishing and operating vaccination centres. For the first-time trained defence medics will also support the administering of the vaccine. Ninety-four military personnel, including medics and drivers, have embedded with the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust to support them by driving Ambulances.
In Northern Ireland the Defence Estate is being loaned to the PSNI for their use and the Armed Forces have placed medevac capabilities on standby for Covid-19 patients when needed.
Police Scotland have launched a new online form for concerned citizens looking to report irresponsible people who are flouting coronavirus restrictions.
The form enables members of the public to report all Covid-related breaches.
Police Scotland announced on Twitter:
Our online reporting tool for reporting #COVID19 breaches is now live
http://ow.ly/sYdB50CWecI Make sure you understand the rules around gatherings for your area, via @scotgov, before you get in touch with us.
Scotland is currently under level four restrictions which makes it illegal to travel between other local authorities or to invite other people over to your house for non-essential reasons. It’s likely these guidelines will be toughened later today.
Police have appealed to the public not to call 101 or 999 for guidance on Covid restrictions.
The EIS has warned that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a disproportionate impact on young people from less advantaged backgrounds.
Without sufficient intervention and support, the consequences of the pandemic could further entrench the disadvantage experienced by young people currently living in poverty.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a damaging impact on the education of young people right across Scotland, and it is young people already facing disadvantage who have felt this most acutely.
“Young people from less affluent backgrounds are far less likely to have access to the types of resources that are available to young people in other areas, which has clearly had an impact during the pandemic.
“Young people living in poverty were far more likely to disengage from education during the lockdown period for a wide range of reasons – including lack of access to IT equipment or suitable access to the internet. This has the potential to further entrench, or even widen, the poverty-related attainment gap that persists in many parts of Scotland.”
Mr Flanagan added, “With all schools set to move to a remote learning model, for at least a week, as schools return following the holiday period, it is essential that we ensure that no young person is disadvantaged as a result.
“The move to a temporary online learning model from next week for most pupils was a necessary and correct decision – but this must be properly supported for it to be delivered successfully across Scotland.
“Longer term, to ensure we have an education led recovery from the impact of COVID-19, the Scottish Parliament needs to commit investment into every area of education – pre-5; Primary and Secondary; Colleges; and Higher Education.”
