Updated guidance on physical distancing measures has been updated and was confirmed yesterday, says The Scottish Licensed Trade Association. This guidance includes information on calculating physical distancing capacity in public settings.
Some of the new elements of this guidance are effective from 17 May 2021, but operators should read the guidance and take the appropriate steps as soon as possible.
Information on the updated guidance can be found here.
As we approach the festive period, the UK Government, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government are seeking to balance pragmatism with the overriding priority of protecting public health.
To do this, we have joined together to issue clear guidance and recommendations, as follows:
A smaller Christmas is a safer Christmas, and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas. The safest way to spend this Christmas is with your own household or your existing support bubble in your own home – and we strongly recommend that this is what you do if at all possible.
We know the extraordinary lengths that people have gone to this year to protect their loved ones and the NHS. We know that people want to see life return to normal. And with vaccines now being deployed, next year we are confident it will do. But to get there safely, this cannot be a normal Christmas. We must continue to work together to prevent the spread of the virus, and to protect our friends, our families and our front-line workers.
In some areas, the number of people with COVID-19 is rising rapidly, as it is in much of Europe. It is vital that we all act responsibly over Christmas to limit the risk of further transmission and keep each other as safe as possible. One in three people who have COVID-19 don’t show symptoms but can still pass on the virus.
To protect you and your loved ones, we recommend that you think very carefully about the risks of forming a bubble. Discuss alternatives to meeting up in person, or ways of meeting up outdoors instead. Only form a bubble if you feel you absolutely need to.
If you do decide you need to form a Christmas bubble, take precautions to minimise risk by stopping unnecessary social contact outside your immediate household as soon as possible, and for at least five days before you meet other households in your bubble, and by working from home if you can. On no account should you visit another household if you, or anyone in your household, is feeling unwell or is self-isolating.
Scientific advice is clear: the longer you meet others for, the higher the risk of you catching and spreading the virus. If you do intend to form a bubble, you should keep the bubble small and your visits short.
The five day period is a window of opportunity and should be seen as a legal maximum, not a target. If you do form a bubble, we recommend that you meet with it for the shortest possible time. You should not stay overnight unless absolutely unavoidable.
It is particularly important to think about the greater risks to more vulnerable people. If you are over 70 or clinically extremely vulnerable, think carefully about the risks. The safest approach may be not to form a Christmas bubble.
If you do form a Christmas bubble, then be especially careful to observe the guidance: meet outdoors where possible, wash your hands regularly, keep a distance from those you do not live with. If you meet indoors, ensure good ventilation by letting in fresh air. The clinically extremely vulnerable and the elderly will be prioritised for vaccination in the early part of next year.
If you are in an existing household or support bubble with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, think carefully. To help reduce the risks to their health, the safest approach would be to celebrate with your household or support bubble and not with others.
If you are forming a Christmas bubble you should consider carefully the risks of travelling at all. If you live in an area with the highest level of protection, for example, tier 3 in England and level 4 in Scotland, you should avoid travelling to lower prevalence areas where possible.
Each administration will issue specific travel advice based on its own circumstances. If you have to travel, book ahead to enable you and others to travel safely and plan your outward and return journeys carefully. Once you arrive you should stay local and not travel within the area.
If you form a Christmas bubble, practise safe behaviours: washing your hands, making space between members of different households wherever you can, and letting in fresh air. Following these behaviours, even within the home, will greatly reduce the risk of transmission.
We will all need to carry on practising safe behaviours after Christmas. This means shopping only if you can do so safely: shop online where you can; avoid crowds; and, if you are in crowded areas, wear a face covering and only go where it is well ventilated.
It is also really important to cut down on social contact after seeing your Christmas bubble, to reduce the risk of chains of transmission. This includes not meeting up with friends or family outside your household for New Year’s Eve. The tier or level rules will be in place on New Year’s Eve / Hogmanay and it is essential, as the minimum, that these are followed by everyone.
By taking these steps together, we can all enjoy a safer Christmas.
The First Minister has stressed that the strong recommendation of the Scottish Government to people across Scotland is to celebrate Christmas this year within your own household and in your own home – and as far as possible to keep any interaction with other households to a minimum. This is by far the safest way to spend this Christmas and keep your loved ones safe.
However, certain flexibilities were agreed in recognition of the impact of loneliness over Christmas on wellbeing and the fact that some people will not be willing to leave loved ones alone.
These provide a window of opportunity and should be seen as legal maximum to work well within. The guidance being issued seeks to reduce risks as far as possible for anyone choosing to use these flexibilities.
The First Minister stressed that the following key points should be taken into consideration by anyone choosing to spend time with other households indoors: keep the duration of any interaction as short as possible: keep any bubble as small as possible; avoid travel and overnight stays unless unavoidable; and comply with all distancing and hygiene advice.
She said: “Our strong advice this Christmas is to stay at home with your own household. Any interaction with other households should, as far as possible, be outdoors. That is the best way of keeping yourself and your loved ones safe this Christmas.
However, we recognize that in some cases, the isolation caused by being alone over Christmas will in itself cause harm to people’s welfare and that is why we have created a window of flexibility with accompanying guidance, to ensure that any household mixing is done as safely as possible,
“If you choose to form a bubble over the Christmas period, then you should take into consideration these key points:
“First, minimise the number of people in the bubble – while three households is the legal maximum, our recommendation is that two households would be better, and you should keep as far within the maximum of eight people over the age of 12 as you can. In short, the smaller the bubble is, the better and safer it will be.
“Second, you should minimise the time spent with your bubble, especially indoors. The five days is a window of opportunity, not a recommended time that it is safe for you to spend together – indeed, the Scottish Government recommends that you do not meet up with people in your bubble on any more than one day over the period and do not stay overnight unless it is unavoidable. And you should minimise the distance you intend to travel.
“You should also avoid all travel between high prevalence areas and low prevalence areas – in particular, that means avoiding travel to or from Scotland and Tier 3 areas in England, and to or from any Level 4 areas in Scotland (of which there are currently none).
The First Minister concluded: “Being asked not to see loved ones at Christmas unless absolutely essential is one of the toughest things imaginable. But, this year, it is essential to help keep people safe.
“With a vaccination programme now underway, a return to more normal life is on the horizon – and I hope that the prospect of brighter days ahead will help all of us get through this difficult Christmas as safely as possible.”
The Scottish Government guidance on Christmas and the festive period has been updated.
It is just a week since the United Kingdom began the biggest vaccination programme in our history.
And the public is coming forward at an extraordinary pace to get a jab, to protect themselves, beginning with the elderly and the most vulnerable.
With 138,000 recipients of the first dose – and more joining them every minute – there is no doubt we are winning and we will win our long struggle against this virus which makes it all the more important that we hold our nerve this winter.
Because we are now in a race to protect us all while doing everything we can to keep the virus under control.
And thanks to the colossal collective effort in November we did bring the R below 1; we did get the infection rate down.
But I must be frank with you – we are already seeing worrying rises in some parts of the country: Kent is still seeing rising infections; the number of cases in London is at 270 per 100,000 people. And that’s why we acted quickly by moving London into Tier 3 from today.
And tomorrow (Thursday) the Health Secretary will announce the outcome of the latest tiering review.
And so like every other European country facing similar challenges we have come to this moment, a great global festival – a turning point, a time of year that is of immense emotional and spiritual importance.
But also a moment for us to exercise extreme caution when we must remember that one of the most striking features of this virus is that it spreads invisibly from people who don’t even have symptoms which is in fact around 1 in 3 of everyone infected.
And that’s why from the beginning this virus has been so hard to fight and that’s why it’s so important to follow the rules – and why this Christmas it’s vital that everyone exercises the greatest possible personal responsibility.
And having looked at the latest data – with our colleagues in the Devolved Administrations, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we have decided that the overall situation is, alas, worse and more challenging than we had hoped when we first set the rules.
So while it would not be right to criminalise people who have made plans and simply want to spend time with their loved ones, we are all collectively across the UK, governments at every level, asking you to think hard and in detail about the days ahead and whether you can do more to protect yourself and others.
We are keeping the laws the same – but we all want to send the same message: a smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas, and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas.
When we say three households can meet on five days, I want to stress these are maximums, not targets to aim for.
And of course it is always going to be safest to minimise the number of people you meet.
And that means that if you are visiting others over Christmas, we are asking you – in the five days beforehand, as early as this Friday – to reduce the number of people you are in contact with to the lowest possible, because this virus spreads from human contact.
If possible don’t travel from a high prevalence to a low prevalence area and avoid staying away from home overnight if you can.
Remember, the vaccine is on the way and our aim is to inoculate everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable or elderly in the early months of next year.
So if you’re elderly, the best way to minimise your personal risk is to wait to be vaccinated before spending time indoors with others.
And if you have an elderly relative, you might want to delay seeing them until they’ve been vaccinated.
And whatever your plans for Christmas, please think carefully about avoiding crowds in the Boxing Day Sales
And no one should be gathering in large groups to see in the New Year – remember the rules in your local area will apply.
In most places across the UK, I’m afraid that means you cannot mix with other households indoors.
All the information about how best to protect yourself and your loved ones is being made available on gov.uk.
So have yourselves a merry little Christmas – And I’m afraid this year I do mean little
But with the vaccine, and all the other measures that we are taking, we do know things will be better in this country by Easter. And I’m sure that next year Christmas will be as normal for every family in the country.
Education Secretary John Swinney has asked council Directors of Education and Head Teachers to assist in sharing more information on coronavirus to parents and carers.
In addition, Scotland’s National Clinical Director Jason Leitch has written an open letter for parents with answers about when children need to be tested for coronavirus.
Cold-like Symptoms
COVID-19 Symptoms
The key symptoms to be aware of are:
If a young person or a child in your care develops any of the above symptoms, they should self-isolate and you should book them a test as soon as possible using the online portal at NHSinform.scot/test-and-protect, or by calling 0800 028 2816.
Education Secretary John Swinney said: “We know that many concerned parents, acting in their children’s best interests, have been keeping children off school. Parents, carers and schools need clear and simple national information, and that is why we are providing further advice today.
“It is critical that we remain vigilant for the symptoms of COVID-19 and this information explains the actions that we should take if someone develops signs of COVID-19 symptoms, either at school or at home.
“We will ensure that pupils, teachers and other school staff get the support they need to remain safe and feel comfortable in the school environment.”
Read National Clinical Director, Jason Leitch, letter here.
Clear information has also been published on the Parent Club website.
Link to relevant NHS Inform web page.
Guidance on how COVID-19 symptoms differ from those of other infections circulating at this time of year, from Scotland’s National Clinical Director:
To parents/carers
I understand these last few months have often been challenging, particularly for parents and carers. Now that schools and nurseries have returned I am writing to provide some advice where a child or young person in your care presents with symptoms of the common cold or similar bugs during this pandemic.
Following the return of schools after a prolonged break, it is common for colds and similar viral infections to circulate. In many cases, children will be well enough to attend school and continue their learning with little or no interruption to their education. In other cases, for instance where they have quite a heavy cold, they may need to take a day or two off to recover.
This is not the case for children and young people with potential COVID-19 symptoms, they are required to self-isolate and seek a test through www.NHSinform.scot/test-and-protect or by calling 0800 028 2816.
In order to ensure your children do not miss out on their education, it is important to be clear about how COVID-19 symptoms differ from those of other infections that we normally see circulating at this time of year.
It is important that all of us – including those who make up the community around a school – are vigilant for the symptoms of COVID-19 and understand what actions we should take if someone develops them, either at school or at home.
The main symptoms to be aware of are:
If a young person or a child in your care develops any of the above symptoms, they should self-isolate and you should book them a test as soon as possible at www.NHSinform.scot/test-and-protect, or by calling 0800 028 2816.
We recommend testing only for those with a continuous cough, fever, or loss of or change in the sense of taste or smell. The UK senior clinicians continue to keep the symptoms for case definition under review and will continue to use evidence to adjust these if it becomes necessary.
It is essential that people who have COVID-19 symptoms, or who share a household with someone who has symptoms, do not attend school, nursery or other childcare settings, and must self-isolate along with all members of their household. If the test is negative, self-isolation can end for everyone. If the test is positive, Test and Protect will give you further advice.
If, however, your child does not have symptoms of COVID-19 but has other cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, they do not need to be tested and they and you do not need to self-isolate. Your child can go to school if fit to do so.
The Scottish Government appreciates the huge effort being made by parents, carers and school staff to ensure the risk of COVID-19 is minimised and to support children’s education.
For further advice please visit the Parent Club website at: www.parentclub.scot or www.nhsinform.scot.
Professor Jason Leitch
National Clinical Director
Scottish Government
New guidance has been produced to support the safe re-opening of small and micro businesses following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The publication provides practical advice for employers on the steps they need to take before and after re-opening.
Key measures include:
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The importance of small and micro businesses to our economy cannot be overstated. Over 98 per cent of all businesses in Scotland have less than 50 employees so it is critically important that they can re-open as soon as it is safe to do so.
“This guidance, developed in partnership with employers and trades unions, provides the information small and micro businesses need to ensure the safety of staff and customers as they re-open.
“And we are providing grant support worth over £1 billion to businesses as part of a wider support package worth over £2.3 billion and we will continue to do all we can to support this vital sector.”
Andrew McRae, the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Scotland Policy Chair, said: “It’s in everyone’s interests to get as many small businesses as possible back up and running as quickly as is safe.
“But to do so, small businesses need to make a lot of changes to how they work – often involving lots of complex, changing information.
“That’s why we asked the Scottish Government to help them cut through the mountain of information by providing some clear steps to follow. This is particularly important for all the smallest businesses who don’t fit neatly into a specific sector – the dog groomer, say, or the portrait photographer.
“For businesses that aren’t sure where to start, this guide will help, as it sets out the key steps they should take across four key areas, as well as providing links to other support and advice
The guidance covers both small businesses, with fewer than 50 employees, and micro businesses, with fewer than 10 employees.
This guidance sits alongside any other relevant sector specific guidance.
Easing of Scotland’s lockdown restrictions have been confirmed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. While some outdoor activity restrictions will ease as of today, the public are still urged to stay at home as much as possible and maintain strict physical distancing when outdoors.
From today, two households will be allowed to meet in outdoor spaces up to a suggested maximum of eight people. However, it is important that physical distancing and hygiene rules are maintained.
Announcing the measures, the First Minister said: “The only reason the Scottish Government can make these changes today is because of the sacrifices that all of you have made. So thank you, to each and every one of you.
“No change will be risk free – and there are no certainties. While I am confident of that, there is also the chance that even these limited changes will lead to much greater change in reality.
“So please act within the rules. Be respectful of each other’s space, be kind, be prepared for things to be very different and remember that each individual decision you take affects the wellbeing of all of us. How well we follow these practices now determines whether we can go further in the future. We can only take these steps towards a less restricted lifestyle, and then consider taking further steps, if people continue to obey the guidance.
“My advice is to stay home as much as possible – the virus has not gone away. If you have symptoms, get tested; wash your hands and surfaces regularly; and if you do meet family or a friend stay outdoors. Don’t put them or yourself at risk.
“People who are shielding will be well into their third month of isolation, of not being able to leave the house at all. They are uppermost in our thoughts as we think about how to safely come out of lockdown and we’ll provide more information for them in the coming weeks.
“We can only take these steps towards a less restricted lifestyle because people have, overwhelmingly, stuck to the guidance. And we will be able to take more steps more quickly in the future – if we continue to do the right thing, and to stick to the rules.”
Measures that will come into force in Phase 1 include:
A helpline providing businesses across Scotland with advice and guidance on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has been announced by Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
The helpline, which is now live, will be open Monday to Friday, between 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Based at Scottish Enterprise’s call centre in Clydebank, advisers across Scotland will answer questions from businesses related to COVID-19. The helpline will also help the Scottish Government identify the current challenges facing businesses.
On Thursday the First Minister confirmed that the Scottish and UK Governments are moving from the containment phase to delay, and that large gatherings of over 500 people will be cancelled to support the resilience of emergency services.
The first death of a Coronavirus patient in Scotland was confirmed yesterday.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Catherine Calderwood said: “I am saddened to report that a patient in Scotland who has tested positive for Coronavirus has died in hospital. I offer my deepest sympathy to their friends and family at this difficult time.
“The patient, who was being treated by Lothian Health Board was an older person who had underlying health conditions. No further information will be available to protect patient confidentiality.”
There are currently twenty confirmed cases in the NHS Lothian area.
The Chief Medical Officer has advised people with mild symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 including continuing coughing, or a fever or a temperature of above 37.8 should self-isolate for seven days.
Those who have been in contact with someone who is experiencing symptoms should only self-isolate if they begin to experience symptoms.
During a meeting with representatives from Scotland’s business support organisations including the STUC this week, Ms Hyslop stressed the importance of everyone following the latest COVID-19 advice.
Ms Hyslop said: “Scotland is well-prepared for a significant outbreak of coronavirus but people have a vital role to play in helping us contain any outbreak by following the latest health and travel advice.
“This situation presents a significant risk to global and domestic economic activity. That is why today we are launching a business helpline which will provide companies in Scotland with the support and guidance they need to respond appropriately.
“We continue to work closely with our partners to identify what further support businesses need. For example, the Minister for Local Government and Planning and the Chief Planner wrote to all planning authorities this week encouraging them to relax their approach to the enforcement of planning restrictions on shop delivery times and opening hours.
“I also chaired a meeting with representatives from Scotland’s business support organisations including the STUC to hear their concerns and provide reassurance that the Scottish Government will do everything in our power to protect the workforce, businesses and our economy.
“I’d also encourage everyone to refer to the new guidance on COVID-19 that includes workplace advice on reducing the spread of infection.
“Following the UK Government’s budget we also require urgent clarification on what funding Scotland will receive from the announcements made by the UK Government, at a time when prospects for the economy and public finances remain very uncertain as the short term impacts of COVID-19 unfold.”
The business helpline number is 0300 303 0660. The helpline will be open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm. Callers should select option one to speak to the COVID-19 team.
People with symptoms told to stay at home.
First Minister announces large events to be cancelled.
Last week new guidance on Covid-19 that includes workplace advice was published.
Further additional guidance and information, including links to guidance for travellers and the general public, can also be found on HPS’ COVID-19 page.
The latest numbers of test results are published at 2pm each day on the Scottish Government website.
