The Scottish Government has published its updated Testing Strategy setting out the role testing continues to play in tackling coronavirus (COVID-19).
The strategy focuses on a number of key areas of testing:
whole population testing of anyone with symptoms (Test & Protect)
proactive case finding by testing contacts and testing in outbreaks
protecting the vulnerable and preventing outbreaks in high risk settings by routine testing
testing for direct patient care, to diagnose and to treat, and to support safe patient care as NHS services restart
surveillance to understand the disease, track prevalence, understand transmission and monitor key sectors
A key development to strengthen surveillance work and help prevent the spread of the virus will be for all contacts of COVID-19 index cases to be offered testing regardless of whether they have symptoms.
At present, recent close contacts of those people with a positive test result, are asked to isolate for 14 days. While they will still have to do this, they will now also be advised to get a test, allowing for further contacts to be identified and potential, wider outbreaks contained.
In addition, from September, Scotland will participate in the ONS Covid-19 Infection Survey which is currently operating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This represents the single biggest expansion to date of asymptomatic testing for surveillance purposes in the pandemic. The survey will eventually see approximately 15,000 individuals in Scotland tested during every two-week rolling period. This equates to approximately 9,000 households.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The publication of our Testing Strategy clearly sets out the role of testing in our response to COVID-19, which will continue to evolve as the scientific and clinical understanding of the virus develops.
“We know that meeting this challenge requires a comprehensive set of public health measures to drive the number of cases down – intelligence, anticipation, prevention, mitigation and response and clearly testing has a crucial role – it allows us to get ahead of the curve and track down and contain the virus as far as possible.
“We will continue to adapt our testing strategy in line with the different stages of the pandemic. However, testing is only one effective intervention that we are using to manage the virus and it remains vital that people continue to follow physical distancing advice and practise good hand and cough hygiene not just for their own safety but in order to protect others.”
People with any of the following symptoms should self-isolate and book a test at nhsinform.scot/test-and-protect or call 0800 028 2816 if they are unable to access the online service:
A new benefit to support 16 to 24 year olds into work if they have been unemployed for six months will open for applications today (Monday 17 August).
Job Start Payment is a one off £250 payment to help with the costs of starting a new job. The upper age limit rises to 25 for care leavers and the payment rises to £400 if the person has a child.
In its first year, it is estimated around 5,000 young people will benefit from this new financial support.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I am delighted that our Job Start Payment is today now open for applications; it really couldn’t come at a better time to support our young people to take up job offers.
“Young people are among those whose job prospects have been hardest hit by this pandemic. As such, it is crucial that we support them and ensure they are at the heart of our economic recovery from COVID-19.
“Last week, we announced an additional £10 million for a range of measures to recruit and retain apprentices. Combined with our commitment of at least £50 million for youth employment and the Scotland’s Youth Guarantee, we will ensure no one is left behind.
“Building on this work to create opportunities, this new benefit will also help young people after a period of unemployment. Getting a job can represent a massive turning point for many young people, but it can also bring financial pressures.
“Costs like travel, new work clothes, or childcare often have to be met before people get their first pay.
“The brand new Job Start Payment will help young people with these costs, which can sometimes be a barrier to them taking up an offer and we will be encouraging anyone eligible to apply. ”
Skills Development Scotland’s Director of Career Information Advice Guidance Operations, James Russell said: “This new payment will offer welcomed practical help to many young people who our advisers are supporting at this time.
“It will be especially important to those taking their next steps into employment and who may need some additional support to start the right career opportunity for them.”
A total of £60 million will be invested in a Youth Guarantee to give all young people access to work, training or education, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has confirmed.
An implementation plan for Scotland’s Youth Guarantee is currently being developed. Funding will come from the additional £100 million Scottish Government investment for employment and skills announced last month.
Speaking to Parliament, Ms Hyslop set out more detail about what the Youth Guarantee will aim to achieve.
She said: “The young people who will make up our future workforce are among those who have been hardest hit by this pandemic. We must support our young people and I want to send a clear message to them today.
“I can announce that the Scottish Government will be committing £60m of the £100m employability fund to support Scotland’s Youth Guarantee, targeted at those most in need of support. This will support young people in a range of ways to help make the transition into work.
“I will bring forward more detail on how we will use this investment with the implementation plan, but I can say now that it will be targeted at those most in need of support, to help them make the transition into work.
“To succeed, we must invest quickly to support a range of interventions to keep young people in work in the next few weeks, to encourage employers to recruit more young people, and to ensure we have enough provision in colleges and elsewhere in the system to prepare young people for future opportunities.
“We must work collaboratively across the private sector, third sector and public sector to ensure no one is left behind, and give them every opportunity in life.
“We want employers to have a clear leadership role. I will encourage employers in all sectors to come forward and support what I see as a crucial intervention to prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) leaving a lasting impact on the employment opportunities of our young people, but also to recognise and promote the valuable and positive role that young people have to play in our economy.”
The Youth Guarantee was one of the main recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.
The implementation plan is currently being developed by Sandy Begbie, who chaired the Developing the Young Workforce Group in Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian and helped design the Edinburgh Guarantee for young people.
Last week the Flexible Workforce Development Fund was doubled to £20 million, to allow employers to upskill and reskill workers for new markets. A further £1.5 million was announced for Business Gateway’s Digital Boost programme to help SMEs adapt to new online digital market challenges – almost trebling the capacity of the initiative for the remainder of this financial year.
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Friday 14 August):
Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us again today, let me firstly give the usual update on the Covid-19 statistics. I can confirm that an additional 65 positive cases were confirmed yesterday.
That represents 1.6% of people newly tested yesterday, and takes the total number of cases now to 19,238.
The full health board breakdown will be available later as usual, but I’ll give the provisional information and that is 28 of the 65 new cases are in the Grampian health board area.
Nine are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and 12 in Lanarkshire – which between them may reflect a cluster in north-east Glasgow. And there are two cases reported in today’s figure for Orkney.
A total of 253 patients are in hospital with confirmed Covid, which is five fewer than yesterday.
Three people are in intensive care which is the same as yesterday.
I’m also very pleased to say that yet again in the past 24 hours, we have had no deaths registered of patients who had tested positive for Covid so the number of deaths under that measurement remains 2,491.
Obviously that overall figure is a reminder of the impact of the virus and again I want to send my thoughts and condolences to those who have lost a loved one.
And as always, to say a very big and heartfelt thank you to everybody in whatever capacity they are working to get country through this difficult period.
I am joined by the Justice Secretary, who will talk in a moment about some arrangements for high court trials, and also cover today’s announcements in relation to quarantine requirements for people returning from holiday from countries such as France, Malta and the Netherlands. And then Jason Leitch will say a word or two before we take questions.
There are a couple of issues I want to say a bit more about today before any of that.Firstly, I’ll provide some further detail about the ongoing outbreak in Aberdeen.
I mentioned a moment ago that 28 of the 65 new cases reported today are in Grampian. I can say that on the latest figures we have available, since the 26th of July, there have been a total of 328 cases identified in Grampian.
And as of now, we believe that 198 of these are associated with the cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs, and 1032 contacts have now been identified from these 198 cases. Contact tracing continues for what remains a very large and a very complex outbreak, and I am grateful once again to our health team and our test and protect teams.
I think it is clear from the numbers I have just given, that we will continue to see new cases and new contacts identified in Aberdeen in the coming days. But we are hopeful that this is an outbreak that will be brought firmly under control.
We are also continuing to monitor developments in relation to smaller clusters that I spoke about yesterday and I’ve referred to already today, firstly on Orkney, and secondly in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde are around north-east Glasgow, which will have potentially an impact on the Lanarkshire figures as well.
The other item I wanted to update on today relates to the new rules and guidance which are coming into force today for the hospitality sector. We know that pubs and restaurants are higher risk locations for transmission of COVID and we are seeing that reflected in our data right now
When the hospitality sector reopened, the Scottish Government published guidance on issues like physical distancing, hygiene, and the collection of customer details.
Many businesses, I believe the majority of businesses, have complied well with those measures, and I am grateful to all of them.
But I also know there are premises where that has not been the case.
We’ve had a particular concern over venues where crowding has become an issue – due to poor compliance with physical distancing, or premises exceeding their safe capacity.
We want to do everything possible to ensure that our hospitality sector, now that is has reopened, can remain open safely.
But it is absolutely essential that we guard against future outbreaks. The volume of cases that we are still dealing with in Aberdeen – many of which seem to have been the result of transmission in pubs – shows the importance of that.
So for that reason, two important new measures are coming into force today.Firstly, it is now mandatory for hospitality businesses, including cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars to collect customer and visitor contact details.
That requirement already exists in guidance – and I know many businesses are already doing this. But it is now the law. It is an essential step to ensure that our Test and Protect system can function as effectively as possible.
So from now on, all hospitality businesses must collect contact details for all visitors to their premises. That includes obviously customers and staff but also people such as cleaners and delivery drivers. And let me make this point clear as well, particularly to members of the public, if customers refuse to provide these details, they should not be served in the place that they are trying to be served in.
The second measure, is that we have today issued new statutory guidance relating to hospitality.
By making the guidance statutory – so that premises must take account of it – we are aiming to ensure greater compliance with the guidelines.
The guidance makes clear, for example, that there should be no indoor queuing in these premises. And if there has to be queuing outside of the premises which we are asking premises to avoid, but if it is necessary for safety reasons, people queueing must be physically distanced.
The guidance also states that people should not be standing together in a bar or restaurant. People should be seated only, with table service to them.
Physical distancing must be possible. Customers must be at least, in a hospitality premise, one metre apart – unless they are part of the same household group.
Businesses must therefore review their layouts to ensure that one metre distancing – at least – is possible. They should clearly signpost the requirement for distancing. And they must not admit more people than can safely gather in their premises abiding by the physical distancing rules.
And they are reminded – as customers are – of the current law on indoor and outdoor gatherings. Friends should not be meeting indoors in groups of more than eight people and those eight people should be from no more than three different households. If larger gatherings seem to be forming in a pub or a restaurant, then that should be challenged by those employed running the business.
We also recommend that face coverings should be used for front of house staff rather than face visors because there is now some evidence that they are more effective.
And finally, there should be no background music – or volume from a television because we don’t want people having to shout to be heard or lean in to each other because we know that increases the risks of transmission.
Now let me say on that point, I know, absolutely all of us know, that atmosphere in pubs and restaurants is important, so we are willing to work with the sector to see if it might be possible to agree a more nuanced position based on an acceptable decibel level, but as you will gather just from what I have said there that will not be simple and it will take time.
So, in the meantime the rule is there should be no background music in pubs and restaurants.
I want to stress that most of these changes will not represent new burdens on businesses. They should already be doing most or all of these things. But the changes should now ensure that all businesses are doing everything possible to make their premises safe.
Ultimately, this is in everybody’s interest.
Self-evidently, it’s in the public interest to reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted in pubs and restaurants – and to ensure that where there are outbreaks Test and Protect can contact everybody it needs to contact.
And it is also in the interests of the hospitality trade. The rules and guidance that take effect today are vital in ensuring that the sector can stay open safely now and into the winter period.
Alongside the guidance for hospitality businesses, we are publishing guidance for customers.
This will appear on the Scottish Government’s website, and if you are planning to go to a pub or restaurant I would ask you to take the time to read it, because the responsibility for ensuring that these rules operate effectively does not just belong to government, or indeed to businesses. It lies with all of us.
In particular, I want to remind everyone that the rules on indoor and outdoor gatherings apply, not just in your own homes although they are very important in your own homes or gardens, but they also apply in bars and restaurants.
No more than three households, with a maximum of eight people, should be meeting together indoors, whether that is a house, pub, restaurant or cafe. Outdoors, the maximum group size is 15 people, from no more than five households.
And within any group, people from different households must physically distance.
I know that sticking to that can be difficult. But it is really crucial.
Keeping our distance from other households, is an essential part of minimising the risk of transmission.
And finally, we are asking customers to minimise the number of premises you visit in any one day.
The more settings you go to, the more likely you might be to get Covid, and the more likely you might be to spread it. Visiting lots of pubs in a single day or evening massively increases as well the workload potentially of Test and Protect.
So please think about that. It makes a really big difference if you stay in one pub, or whether you go to several.
And more generally, if you are going out a lot at the moment, and this is a really difficult thing to ask people to do, but I am going to ask you to think about that. If you are going out to pubs or restaurants or going to other people’s houses regularly because as I have said before this is not easy – nobody’s life should be feeling absolutely normal yet. Nobody’s social life should feel exactly as it was before Covid struck.
The guidance we are publishing today will only work if all of us, as customers, individuals, as citizens, play our part. So I would encourage everybody to read the guidance, think about it, and help our hospitality businesses stay open.
This is not easy and I am very aware as I have just read through the rules and regulations there, that it is complicated. So please, if you are going out, take the time to familiarise yourself with the guidance first and try to stick to it when you are out.
And as I said yesterday, I have said before, wherever you are, assume the virus is in the room with you, because it very possibly is and therefore everything you do in sticking to these rules is denying it the opportunities to spread.
And lastly, just let me repeat my warning yesterday about house parties or gatherings. They pose a real risk and again the data we have from Test and Protect show that they are a driver of transmission right now, just as hospitality premises are.
So remember, in your own home or in a friend’s house, no more than eight people from no more than three households should be gathering together. And you must keep a 2 metre distance from people from different households. It’s pain for everybody to be living this way but it is better than having this virus run out of control.
So please, I am appealing to everybody, to be very conscious about everything you are doing in this regard right now.
And that brings me to the fundamental point but the one I want to end on, and it is one you have heard me make so many times before but it is really important that we all understand it.
Ultimately, the spread of this virus, whether it accelerates again or we manage to keep it under control, comes down to the decisions all of us are making as individuals.
So we need to think very carefully about those decisions. It’s quite simple, if we all stick to the rules and the guidance, then we don’t completely eradicate the risk of this virus because that’s not how viruses work, but we massively reduce the risks of it spreading from one of us to another and from one household to another.
So, please think carefully about this. Aberdeen tells us that we can go backwards in this journey out of lockdown just as easily, perhaps more easily if we are not careful than we can go forwards.
So, I’ll end with my usual reminder of the FACTS campaign. It is so important that everybody follows these five golden rules.
Face coverings, shops, public transport already the law of course, but in any enclosed space
Avoid crowded places. That obviously is really important indoors but it is important outdoors as well
Clean your hands obsessively and clean hard surfaces, that you are touching, obsessively as well
Two metre distancing remains the rule
and Self isolate, and book a test, if you have any of the symptoms.
Let me remind you what the symptoms are because I have heard one or two suggestions in recent days that people are still not familiar with the symptoms to look out for, which is understandable, so let me remind you.
A new cough, a fever, or a loss of or change to your sense of taste or smell. Any one of these symptoms or anything that is worrying you around with that,don’t wait to see if you feel better. Go to NHS inform and book a test straight away and apart from going to get the test, self-isolate immediately because that helps us straight away reduce and break those potential chains of transmission.
So, thank you again for doing all of this and please, my final point before handing over to the Justice Secretary, is for those of you watching this and hearing this directly, please help me get this message to as wide an audience as possible by passing it on to your family members, who might be at work or school, passing it on to your friends, people you work with.
We all have a job to do here to make sure everybody knows what we should be doing and shouldn’t be doing and all of us stick to that.
From today it is mandatory for hospitality settings to collect the contact details of visitors to their premises in support of Test and Protect.The new regulations apply to restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels in which food or drink are sold for consumption on the premises.
These businesses must now record the name and contact number of an individual – or lead member of each household in a group – that visits the premises.
They must also record the date of the visit, the time of arrival, and where possible the departure time.
The new regulations include customers, staff working on a particular day and visitors such as delivery drivers or cleaners.
Premises must store the information for 21 days and share it when requested to do so by public health officers within 24 hours.
New statutory guidance for the hospitality sector has been published which explains how to keep a record of customer and visitor contact details securely ensuring data protection principles are upheld.
The Scottish Government has also published updated guidance for hospitality customers to reinforce key safety measures.
This includes the need to maintain physical distancing and the strict limits on the number of households that can meet at a time – 8 people from up to 3 households indoors and 15 people from up to 5 households outdoors.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “While many hospitality businesses have acted responsibly by adhering to the voluntary approach of collecting customer details, unfortunately too many others have not, and so – given the established high risk of virus transmission within hospitality settings – we have decided to make this mandatory.
“Strengthening this requirement to collect and share the data by moving it from guidance into regulations ensures that in the event of an outbreak, through the Test and Protect process, it will be possible to get in touch with anyone identified as a close contact who was present at the same time as an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.
“This will help us break chains of transmission while continuing to allow us to socialise and support our local businesses.
“It is worth stressing that for those hospitality venues which are already complying with guidance, they will see minimal change to their procedures and operations.”
Chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association Emma McClarkin said: “The majority of Scotland’s pubs and bars had already gone above and beyond in putting measures in place to keep customers safe during this time.
“These changes today will help ensure those premises which have fallen short no longer do so, and we welcome that clarity.
“We’re all in this together and the stronger we are now, the sooner we will be able to see these restrictions disappear.”
A failure to have the required arrangements in place will be punishable by a Fixed Penalty Notice under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. A continuing failure could be enforced by repeated fines of up to £960.
France and the Netherlands will be removed from the list of destinations exempt from quarantine requirements due to an increased number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Malta and Monaco will also be removed from the exemption list.
The decision made by the Scottish Government, and also made by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales as well as the UK Government, is to reduce the risk of the transmission of the virus by those travelling from these countries.
The public health measures will come into effect at 4am tomorrow (Saturday 15 August) and will mean those arriving in Scotland from France, the Netherlands, Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Malta, and Monaco will be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We have always been clear we are closely monitoring the situation in all countries and that we may need to take action to remove a country from the list of places exempt from quarantine requirements should the virus show a resurgence.
“These are not decisions which we take lightly but on the basis of the evidence it is important that we take action to suppress transmission of the virus and protect public health.”
Public health rules for international travel are an important part of Scotland’s wider response to the pandemic, to limit the introduction of new chains of transmission as Scotland’s own infection rates have been falling.
All international travellers arriving into Scotland, apart from a very limited number of exemptions, must complete a passenger locator form and provide evidence that they have done so on arrival in the UK if requested to do so by a Border Force official. Individuals who do not complete the form and present it when asked on arrival may be fined £60. The fine can be doubled for each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £480.
Those travelling abroad should check in advance if there are any requirements to quarantine on arrival at their destination.
The existing list of overseas destinations where those arriving in Scotland are exempt from self-isolation can be found online.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has also updated its travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to France, Monaco, the Netherlands, Malta, Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba.
Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said:“It’s understandable that the government wants to restrict travel to these countries at this time, but the burden of this decision disproportionally falls on holidaymakers – thousands of whom are likely to be left significantly out of pocket because their airline will refuse to refund them.
“Unlike tour operators, airlines now routinely ignore FCO travel warnings and refuse refunds because, they argue, the flight is still operating. Some major airlines, like Ryanair, won’t even allow customers to rebook without charging a hefty fee.
“The government wants us to act responsibly and not travel to countries with an FCO warning, but it needs to make it clear to airlines that they too need to act responsibly and not ignore government travel advice in an effort to pocket customer cash.”
Support for vital schemes to support local businesses while ensuring shoppers and staff stay safe
Communities across Edinburgh and the Lothians have received a share of £1 million of grants to help town centres recover from the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
The money nationally has come from The Towns and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) Resilience and Recovery Fund, financed by the Scottish Government and administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership.
Among the organisations to receive support is City of Edinburgh Council which has received £40,000 towards a digital marketing campaign and other promotional material to support a campaign encouraging people to shop local.
Details of all the projects supported in the region are available here.
The fund has supported a raft of schemes to help town centres in their fightback from the Covid-19 pandemic, including helping pay for PPE supplies as well as funding local marketing campaigns urging people to support businesses in their community, highlighting that they are open for business.
Phil Prentice, Chief Officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership,said: “Businesses in our town centres are showing remarkable resilience and innovation in how they are responding to the consequences of Covid-19 to best serve their customers and communities.
“From rapidly accelerating their online offerings to moving quickly to ensure that safeguards are in place to ensure that staff can work safely and customers shop responsibly, their work is playing an important part in the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. The impact they are having should not be underestimated.
“We are delighted to have been able to support projects in Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian and pleased that the work will touch on so many towns as we encourage everyone to think local first – and safety first – to support the businesses and the people behind them who really are at the heart of the areas in which they live.
“Whether it be buying your groceries or enjoying a meal out, the support you give is critical as we work hard to secure a sustainable and successful future for Scotland’s town centres.”
Nationally 73 projects are being supported – 24 in full and 49 in part – covering 188 individual towns. Money has been granted to organisations including local authorities and community business groups.
Scotland’s Communities Secretary, Aileen Campbell MSP, said: “Living more of our lives locally – shopping, eating and enjoying activities in the areas we live – has never been more important.
“It has a huge role to play in supporting Scotland’s economic and social recovery from COVID-19. This fund is enabling great work to support and promote local businesses in more than 180 towns by highlighting the diverse and vibrant selection of products and services on offer
“Taking simple steps like choosing to visit a nearby shop or café, or buying goods or services from a business in your own community helps support local jobs. These actions help local economies to thrive, bring communities together and, crucially, help us to continue to suppress the virus by limiting unnecessary travel.”
The Towns and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) Resilience and Recovery Fund totals £2 million. While half of this has been used towards the current wave of grants, £700,000 will provide support to business improvement districts when current BIDs Resilience funding expires.
The remainder of the money includes support for the Scotland Loves Local campaign, a major multimedia promotion championing the message for shoppers to think local first.
The SPFL has agreed to implement an urgent package of measures – and to the postponement of a limited number of Scottish Premiership fixtures – following another breach of protocols.
The decision was taken by the SPFL, following discussion with Ministers, after Celtic FC player Boli Bolingoli allegedly failed to self-isolate for the required 14 day quarantine period after returning from Spain.
The player apparently did not declare this trip to the club and continued to break the resumption of performance sport protocols by taking part in training and playing in the club’s game against Kilmarnock FC on Sunday.
This follows the earlier breach of protocol involving players from Aberdeen FC.
Matches involving Aberdeen and Celtic this midweek, and the match between the two clubs scheduled for this weekend – three games in total – will now be postponed.
In addition:
The SPFL has agreed to put an immediate player education programme in place to ensure no further rule breaks occur and players and staff are fully aware of their responsibilities
The SPFL has also agreed to put in place punitive measures that can be implemented so they can directly take action against players in the event of further rule breaches
The SPFL agreed to undertake promotional activity on behalf of SG – FACT branded material, etc
Minister for Sport Joe FitzPatrick said: “A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes during these past months to create the protocols and testing regimes that have allowed top level professional football in Scotland to resume, without putting the public or others at unnecessary risk.
“It is up to the football authorities, clubs and individuals within those clubs to take responsibility to ensure that these protocols are followed rigorously. Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, we have seen multiple examples where that hasn’t happened.
“This latest example indicates that the current arrangements are not working as intended, and so clearly additional steps now need to be taken to ensure that the necessity of strict compliance with the rules is fully and properly understood.”
National Clinical Director Jason Leitch said: “I share the disappointment of many fans at this setback but this is another example which unfortunately demonstrates that the current system is not working as intended and does not give me the confidence I need that the required protocols are being followed.
“The football authorities and clubs must be able to provide the Scottish Government with the confidence required that everyone involved in the sport understands the absolute necessity of adhering rigorously to the guidelines in place so that football does not present an unnecessary risk to public health more generally.”
Rod Petrie, Chair of the SPFL Joint Response Group, said: “The Joint Response Group has acted swiftly and decisively in addressing the latest concerns raised by the minister on behalf of Scottish Government.
While the decision to postpone these games is deeply regrettable nevertheless in the circumstances it is unavoidable and uncontestable.
“The JRG members were astounded to learn of the recklessness demonstrated by Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo in his breach of government public health guidance and football protocols. We echo the sentiments of Celtic FC in their condemnatory statement and commend the club’s swiftness in opening a disciplinary investigation.
“That this comes on the back of eight Aberdeen players showing similar disregard for public health is disrespectful not just to every football team-mate, fellow player and colleague but also to every fan in this country. It is also hugely damaging to the image, reputation and sustainability of the game.
“We sympathise with the position this puts the Scottish Government in as the country is tentatively easing its way out of lockdown restrictions.
“We agree wholeheartedly with the unequivocal message relayed to managers and captains by the National Clinical Director for Scotland, Professor Jason Leitch, last night. Clubs and players are in no doubt that there is now no more margin for error and no more scope for further breaches.
“Since March, the Joint Response Group has worked hand-in-hand with government advisers and medical experts to ensure a safe return for the professional game, with clubs undertaking to fulfil their obligations.
“Players must heed the warning of the First Minister that this is a yellow-card moment for Scottish football.”
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive, added: “We have only been able to restart matches thanks to the enormous efforts and sacrifices of literally thousands of people across the Scottish game. For anyone to put that in jeopardy in such a thoughtless and selfish manner is just beyond belief.
“The vast majority of players and officials who have strictly observed the necessary restrictions will rightly see this as a real kick in the teeth.
“Everyone knows that this season’s fixture schedule is already horrendously tight without having to reschedule matches because of the irresponsible actions of a handful of players.”
Scotland’s future workforce will be at the heart of rebuilding the economy following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said.
Announcing £10 million for a range of measures to recruit and retain apprentices, including additional funding for the Scottish Government’s Adopt an Apprentice programme, Ms Hyslop said the funding would help modern and graduate apprentices who are facing redundancy as a result of COVID-19 get back into work.
Ms Hyslop (above) said: “The young people who will make up our future workforce are among those who have been hardest hit by this pandemic. As such, it is crucial that we support them and ensure they are at the heart of our economic recovery from COVID-19.
“This targeted funding will extend the reach of our support for apprentices, including our Adopt an Apprentice programme. Combined with our commitment of at least £50 million for youth employment and the Youth Guarantee, we will ensure no one is left behind.
“Apprenticeships are not only valuable for our young people, they are a key way for all employers to invest in their workforce, and provide the skills the economy needs both now and in the future.
“Our focus is on protecting jobs, creating jobs, ensuring quality jobs and supporting skilled jobs. By taking this action to protect and support skilled jobs now, we will rebuild a stronger, fairer and greener future for Scotland.”
Frank Mitchell, Chair of Skills Development Scotland, said: “This welcome announcement underlines the importance of apprentices to the Scottish economy and the crucial role they will play in supporting individuals and businesses in the recovery from COVID-19.
“We will continue to liaise with the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board and other employer organisations on the development and delivery of employer incentives and subsidies. SDS is also fully engaged with the work Sandy Begbie is leading on the development of a jobs guarantee for young people in order to maximise the use of all available incentives towards the retention and recruitment of apprentices.”
Further immediate investment to support economic recovery from COVID-19 was set out last week by the Scottish Government, with additional funding for workforce training and digital technology announced.
The Flexible Workforce Development Fund, which helps employers upskill and reskill their existing workforce through college courses, will be increased from £10 million to £20 million.
Meanwhile a further £1.5 million will be invested into the Digital Boost programme – almost trebling the capacity of the initiative for the remainder of this financial year.
Care home residents will be able to receive more outdoor visitors from today (Monday, 10 August), Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has confirmed.
From today, care home residents will be able to have up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households provided their home meets strict criteria, with infection control measures remaining in place.
Since 3 July care homes which have met this criteria have been able to allow residents to meet with one designated visitor outdoors.
A care home will only be able to permit visiting if they have been COVID-free throughout the pandemic or if all affected residents have fully recovered and no residents or staff have had symptoms for 28 days and the home is actively participating in weekly staff testing.
Visitors will need to wear face coverings throughout their visit and physical distancing and hand and cough hygiene will need to be adhered to at all times.
Care home providers have also been asked to develop plans on how they can safely allow one designated indoor visitor for residents within their homes. These plans must be submitted by 24 August and will be signed off by the relevant health board’s Director of Public Health once they are satisfied with the plan and the home meets all the criteria for indoor visiting.
Essential visits, including those involving end of life care, and visits for residents who are experiencing distress have been permitted throughout the pandemic and should continue to be supported by care homes.
Ms Freeman said: “This has been, and continues to be, a very challenging time for care home residents, their families and staff.
“Care homes are first and foremost people’s homes and we are committed to reintroducing measures that allow residents to connect with their family and friends. But this must be done safely and with precautions.
“Progress has been made since we reintroduced one designated outdoor visitor earlier this month, and I am pleased the clinical advice is now that care homes that meet the strict criteria can now allow residents to have up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households.
“It is important that we continue to monitor this situation and that all changes within care homes happen incrementally and with real caution to protect residents and staff.
“At this point in time clinical advice is not to restart indoor care home visiting, but to ensure the necessary plans are in place to move to this as soon as safe to do so. This is being continually monitored and I hope we can give a further update on this in the coming weeks.
“We are also working to identify the necessary steps needed to restart communal activity within care homes and to reintroduce external outings by residents. This is a complex piece of work and we will of course include key partners in this.”
Scottish Care Chief Executive Donald Macaskill said: “The last few months have been exceptionally hard for folks in our care homes and for their families, being separated with only limited, often virtual, contact.
“At the beginning of July we opened up care homes to outdoor visiting and I am very pleased that in our slow journey back to normal life we can shortly allow the careful start of a degree of indoor visiting subject to local sign off by Public Health Officials. As well as this, it is positive that an increase in the numbers able to visit residents outdoors is now possible.
“Throughout the restoration of family visiting, we have tried to strike the hard balance between getting people back to seeing and being with their families and keeping residents, staff and others safe from the virus. We are very aware of how pernicious this virus is so guidance and measures will remain in place to protect everyone.”
Alzheimer Scotland’s new resources for care homes
Alzheimer Scotland has been working to respond to the main concerns expressed by callers to their 24-hour Freephone Dementia Helpline (0808 808 3000) and now have a suite of resources on their website’s Coronavirus Information Hub including podcasts and videos.
