Scotland’s four science centres are being offered an extra £2 million in emergency funding to help weather the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The money is on top of annual funding of £2.67 million from the Scottish Government, and means they will be able to start to re-open in the autumn, with safeguards in place to protect visitors.
Glasgow Science Centre, Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh (above), Dundee Science Centre and Aberdeen Science Centre collectively attract around 700,000 visitors and engage with a total of 1.5 million people of all ages annually – within the centres and through outreach and community programmes – playing a vital role in supporting education practitioners, schools, families and communities in every area of Scotland.
The four sites support access to public science engagement as part of the Scottish Government’s STEM Education and Training Strategy by stimulating debate and discussion around science and promoting science-based careers across a wide range of audiences of all ages and from all backgrounds.
Since closing their doors in March, the centres – which employ around 400 staff – have continued to engage with school pupils of all ages, teachers, families and the wider public, including via video-based content.
Science Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Our science centres are a valuable national asset, and even though they are currently closed to visitors, they have continued to deliver STEM learning opportunities through the creative and innovative use of online learning.
“From daily online videos and weekly themed home-learning programmes to stay-at-home science and STEM care packages, they have been providing valuable resources to support parents, teachers and young people during the school closures.
“Science, technology, engineering and maths impact our everyday lives and this has never been more relevant than in the current global pandemic. The huge contributions of Scotland’s STEM-related research and industry have being highlighted nationally and internationally throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
“This extra money puts our science centres in a stronger position to continue to showcase Scottish research and industry excellence in STEM, inspiring our young people and supporting their learning, while helping Scotland realise its ambitions as a science and innovation nation.”
The UK government must reconsider its position on people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), says Scotland’s Housing Minister Kevin Stewart.
The move follows a letter from Minister for Immigration Compliance Chris Philp which again stated that there were no plans for the Home Office to suspend its approach to those with NRPF, despite the ongoing public health emergency.
More than £875,000 has been provided by the Scottish Government and local authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that people with no access to financial support are kept safe and secure. The Scottish Government and its third sector partners have repeatedly called for the UK government to lift these restrictions during the pandemic to enable everyone in our society to be treated fairly and equitably.
Mr Stewart said: “The Scottish Government is determined for our most vulnerable citizens not to be abandoned at a time when they need our help the most.
“The economic impacts of the pandemic are pushing thousands of people further into poverty and harming their work opportunities. However, thanks to a rapid and coordinated response in Scotland, we have been able to accommodate people who would otherwise be facing destitution, so they can protect themselves and others during the COVID-19 crisis.
“As a result, many people restricted by the UK Government’s harmful approach, who were previously sleeping rough or in unsuitable night shelters, are now being supported in hotels and other self-contained accommodation.
“I am therefore appalled at the UK government’s refusal to do the right thing and immediately lift the restrictions on those who currently have no recourse to public funds for the duration of this public health crisis and would again call for them to act.
“Their unreasonable and heartless restriction also affects women and children fleeing domestic abuse who have to leave with little resources or belongings and non EEA nationals who lost their incomes and found themselves far from their families and homes as a result of the pandemic.”
Demand for food packs highlights impact of the pandemic.
Homeless people and others affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak are to receive further support through the Scottish Government’s emergency funding for communities.
In March, Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell announced a £350 million package of funding to help tackle harms caused by the pandemic, including a £70 million Food Fund. More than £40 million extra funding has since been committed for food initiatives, increasing the total to £110 million.
Social enterprise Social Bite has been awarded an additional £48,500 for its COVID-19 response, with its funding since April now totalling £700,000. Its team have delivered 500,000 food packs and meals to people in need in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow since April.
Speaking following a visit to Social Bite’s central kitchen in Livingston, Ms Campbell said: “Like many community groups and charities, Social Bite’s team have worked hard making and delivering meals as well as offering a free takeaway service for those most at risk. I want to thank everyone who has supported people through this time.
“Sadly, the demand for such services highlights the terrible impact of the pandemic on people from all walks of life.
“We have provided flexibility through our £110 million funding to tackle food insecurity so people can access both cash and food-based support. This includes funding for free school meals over the summer holidays, food boxes for those who were shielding and support for people facing financial hardship. We have also more than doubled the Scottish Welfare Fund.
“Anyone worried about being able to access food should contact the National Helpline on 0800 111 4000.”
Josh Littlejohn, co-founder and CEO of Social Bite, said: “As soon as the pandemic hit, we saw that food poverty was going to be a major issue for our most vulnerable communities, so we re-purposed Social Bite’s entire infrastructure to provide free food for those who needed it.
“Thanks to support from the Scottish Government, the business community and the public, we were able to mobilise extremely quickly. Since the pandemic began, we have distributed more than 500,000 food packs. This funding will help us provide further support for homeless people and other vulnerable groups in our communities amid the acute challenges of COVID-19.”
Following yesterday’s announcement by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon of a £2.5m increase to the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund, taking the total available through the fund to £12.5m, Creative Scotland has, today, published guidance on how to access this fund.
Allocation of this fund is as follows:
· £7.5m targeted funding for performing arts venues in Scotland currently in receipt of Regular Funding through Creative Scotland
· £5m open fund for application from Scotland based performing arts venues not currently in receipt of Regular Funding. This open fund has been developed with input from the Federation for Scottish Theatre and opens today, Thursday 30 July 2020.
The Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund will help performing arts venues which cannot yet reopen to their audiences due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government intends the fund to:
· Remove the threat of insolvency prior to the end of March 2021 to enable the development and delivery of activity as soon as practicable
· Allow for specialist / core staff to return from furlough or avoid redundancy to work on future sustainable activity plans
· Increase commissioning and employment opportunities for freelance artists and creative practitioners (between now and end of March 2021) to support continued public engagement while closed.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslopsaid: “Our world-class performing arts venues have suffered immensely from the impacts of coronavirus. They were among some of the first businesses to close and sadly, will be amongst the last to reopen.
“We worked hard to get much-needed funding out as quickly as possible to the culture sector to help organisations cope with the immediate effects of the pandemic, and this new fund recognises the particular difficulties which continue to be felt by performing arts venues.
“I’m pleased to announce we have increased the fund to £12.5 million, which will ensure even more venues can get financial support to help them through this challenging time.”
Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotlandsaid: “We very much welcome this funding from Scottish Government which provides some much needed relief for Performing Arts Venues in Scotland, venues which are facing significant financial challenges due to their continued closure in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have worked at pace to open this fund for application as quickly as possible.
“Beyond this fund, we are also working closely with the Scottish Government on further measures to provide emergency support for the culture sector and further details will be announced as soon as possible.”
Funding of £37.6 million was allocated to support people and families on low incomes in times of need in the 12 months to 31 March 2020 – an increase of 7% on the previous year.
Scottish Welfare Fund payments included £12.9 million in Crisis Grants – up 24% – and £24.7 million on Community Care Grants.
The fund received 296,870 applications for help, with the most common reason families gave being their benefits or other income had been spent – up 27% on the previous year.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is further evidence that the UK Government’s benefits cuts are hitting the poorest in Scotland the hardest, with more and more people struggling just to make ends meet and being pushed to rely on food banks, or suffer from the stress of debt and rent arrears.
“That’s without taking into consideration the significant financial impact that coronavirus (COVID-19)is having on some of those earning the least in our society.
“We took early action in March to more than double the Scottish Welfare Fund to £80.5 million this year in response to the expected impact of coronavirus, and we have made an additional £110 million available to support people struggling to access food during the pandemic.
“That funding will help local authority partners continue to support people at this time and we would encourage anyone in need of support to apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund.”
The Scottish Government is to actively inform families that they may be eligible for Best Start Foods and the Best Start Grant.
Information obtained from DWP and HMRC will allow Social Security Scotland to identify people who are on certain benefits or tax credits and have children of the right age. Social Security Scotland will then write to an estimated 22,000 families before the end of August inviting them to apply.
The letters are aimed at increasing take up of all financial support families are entitled to as part of the Scottish Government’s benefit take-up strategy and the wider co-ordinated approach to helping families who are under even more financial pressure due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This important new proactive approach to maximising benefit uptake is a first for social security in Scotland.
Families already receiving qualifying UK benefits and tax credits will receive these invites. Those who currently don’t receive such support but think that they may be eligible are still encouraged to find out if they too are entitled to access Scottish benefits.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Social security is a human right and an investment in the people of Scotland. Encouraging individuals to claim the financial assistance they are entitled to is a duty of government and a social responsibility. We are committed to making sure that people get all of the money that they are entitled to – to help maximise incomes and tackle poverty.
“The economic impacts of the pandemic are pushing thousands of people further into hardship so it’s important families are informed about the support available to them.
“This unique direct marketing of benefits complements the Scottish Government’s wider efforts to help parents during this challenging time. We must do all that we can to eradicate child poverty and make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.”
Young carers provide unpaid care for a family member or a friend, who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems.
The Festival provided the opportunity for young carers to meet other young people in similar situations, share new experiences and of course, have fun! The event also provided a national celebration for young carers to share their experiences, the impact that caring has on them and to suggest changes that could make their lives better.
Carers Trust Scotland and the Scottish Government have been working with young carers and their services to plan a new kind of Festival this year!
Scottish Government funding is providing over £100,000 for Carers Trust Scotland to administer a small-grant scheme to eligible young carer services. These services will be able to apply for funding to provide fun and respite to the young carers they support. The outcomes of this scheme are broad to ensure that services can take a local, tailor-made approach in supporting their young people and provide meaningful respite in a safe way.
Furthermore, Carers Trust Scotland will bring Festival fun to young people through our first ever virtual Festival, “Best of the Fest!” On Wednesday 5 August to Friday 7 August, there will be the opportunity for young carers to take part in dozens of activities and events including; mindfullness, yoga, magic shows, paint a-longs and live music!
Resources will also be shared on our website for young people to access at any time after the virtual Festival has taken place.
Our traditional marketplace at the Festival, which invites organisations to promote their services and resources to young carers and their services, will also be found online this year! Organisations such as Young Scot and the Scottish Youth Parliament will host live workshops for young carers and youth workers to find out more about the opportunities available.
This year’s alternative Scottish Young Carers Festival takes place during a challenging time for many young carers. A new Carers Trust Scotland survey shows the pandemic’s dramatic impact on the wider wellbeing of young carers in Scotland.
Meaningful respite for these young people is more important than ever, with 42% of young adult carers in Scotland stating they are unable to take a break from caring as a result of Coronavirus.
Furthermore, 69% of young carers and 76% of young adult carers in Scotland who responded to the survey felt less able to stay in touch with friends since coronavirus.74% of young carers and 73% of young adult carers in Scotland also said they are feeling less connected to others since coronavirus.
The results point to a steep decline in the mental health and wellbeing of young people across Scotland who provide unpaid care for family members or friends.
These results highlight the need for continued support to young carers and the opportunity for meaningful respite and engagement opportunities throughout the year. Despite the cancellation of our Scottish Young Carers Festival, our small-grant scheme and online activities aim to provide fun and respite to these young people in alternative, safe ways.
Minister for Public Health, Joe FitzPatrick said: “Young carers make a vitally important contribution to our society. Often though, because of their responsibilities, they haven’t got the same amount of free time and opportunities as their peers.
“Although the Festival cannot take place this year, I hope young carers across the country will be able to benefit from the Scottish Government funded small grant scheme which will enable local services to provide them with some much deserved respite and extra support.”
Paul Traynor, Policy and External Affairs Manager of Carers Trust Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be working with Scottish Government to deliver these new kind of Festival activities for young carers across Scotland for 2020.
“The pandemic has been difficult for a lot of young carers and many have reported taking on additional caring responsibilities, feeling isolated, and feeling disconnected to their friends and wider communities.
“Although some young carers may be disappointed that the annual Scottish Young Carers Festival event has been cancelled, the small-grant scheme provides new opportunities for local young carer services to plan and deliver activities to ensure young carers still have an opportunity to get a break from caring and have fun.
“We also hope that our ‘Best of the Fest’ virtual events will provide that Festival feeling that gives young carers the opportunity to be children and young people first.”
If you arrive in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland from Spain you will now need to self-isolate.
Spain will be removed from the list of countries exempt from quarantine requirements due to an increased number of cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last few days.
The decision, also made by the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales as well as the UK Government, has been made to reduce the risk of the transmission of the virus by those travelling from Spain and arriving in Scotland.
The public health measures came into effect from midnight and will mean those arriving in Scotland from Spain will now be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The decision to exempt Spain earlier this week, was taken when the data showed there was an improvement in the spread of the virus. But clearly the latest data has given us cause for concern to overturn that decision.
“We appreciate that this will be disappointing. However, we have always been clear we are closely monitoring the pandemic situation in all countries and that we may require to remove a country from the list of places exempt from quarantine requirements should the virus show a resurgence.
“It is still active and it is still deadly. Supressing the virus, preventing it from being transmitted and protecting public health is our priority.”
The FCO is advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain – this does not cover the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands because travel advice is based on the risk to the individual traveller and COVID-19 infection rates are lower there than mainland Spain.
A UK government spokesperson said: “The Joint Biosecurity Centre together with Public Health England have updated their coronavirus assessments of Spain based on the latest data. As a result, Spain has been removed from the lists of countries from which passengers arriving in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are exempted from the need to self-isolate.
“Protecting public health is our absolute priority and we have taken this decision to limit any potential spread to the UK.
“We’ve always been clear that we would act immediately to remove a country where necessary. Both our list of quarantine exemptions and the FCO travel advice are being updated to reflect these latest risk assessments.”
A new funding stream for the independent museums sector to help bolster resilience following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been announced by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
The £4 million Museums Resilience and Recovery Fund will provide support for Scotland’s museums and galleries and will be administered by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS).
The fund will aid the return of staff from furlough and the wider reopening of museums and galleries.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Museums are the places where we hold memories of our people. They play a big role in delivering social impacts in education, health and wellbeing and also generate a considerable amount for the economy, with £1.04 billion directly attributable to heritage, tourism, rural employment and apprenticeships.
“Sadly, many of these wonderful institutions are now at a critical juncture in making decisions about whether they can afford to reopen, looking at possible redundancies, cancelling events and putting off critical repairs. I am pleased to announce this much needed support for the sector to help them get through the rest of the financial year.
“We all need to come together to support our local museums and galleries. As part of the campaign to encourage Scots to staycation this summer, I would encourage everyone to consider visiting their local museums, galleries and heritage attractions, if they are open. Scotland’s communities are relying on our continued support.”
Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said: “We warmly welcome this funding from the Scottish Government. The burden of uncertainty has been one of the hardest hitting consequences of this pandemic – affecting us all.
“This financial support will enable us to alleviate the intense pressures felt by our independent museums and heralds a precious opportunity for the passionate and skilled people working in this sector to plan, to collaborate and to deliver vital services with and within communities.
Museums and galleries are a vital part of the fabric of our towns, cities and communities the length and breadth of this country and we welcome the Scottish Government’s recognition of their important role through this support.”
First Minister’s coronavirus update from St Andrew’s House on Thursday 23 July 2020:
Good afternoon everyone, thank you for joining us today as usual. Let me start as I always do with the update on the Covid-19 statistics.
An additional 16 positive cases were confirmed yesterday. That represents 0.4% of people who were newly tested yesterday, and it takes the total number of cases in Scotland to 18,500.
It’s worth highlighting that we have changed the reporting of figures on the Scottish Government’s website from today so that the figures for new cases – including that percentage of positive tests – are now shown more prominently on the main Covid page. That website is updated at 2 o’clock every day.
The health board breakdown of today’s cases will be available at 2 o’clock but the provisional information I have is that 4 of today’s cases are in Lanarkshire.
And, more specifically in relation to the outbreak at the Sitel call centre in Lanarkshire, I can confirm that as of this morning, there are a total of 24 positive cases associated with that outbreak which is an increase of 4 since yesterday.
That includes 17 people employed at the site, which is 2 more than yesterday, and 7 contacts, which is also 2 more than yesterday.
Now, given that the virus can have a long incubation period, intensive work is still ongoing in order to ensure that all possible chains of transmission from this outbreak are being closed down. And I am very grateful to everyone who is working very had as part of that effort.
I can also report today that a total of 287 patients confirmed as having the virus are currently in hospital which is 8 fewer than yesterday.
And as of last night, there were just 2 people with confirmed COVID in intensive care in Scotland, which is 1 fewer than yesterday.
And finally, on the statistics, I am very glad to say that once again, during the past 24 hours, no deaths were registered of patients confirmed through a test as having the virus. The total number of deaths, under this measure, therefore remains 2,491.
This is obviously very welcome news. It means that no deaths have been reported in Scotland under this measurement during the entirety of the past week – and that just one death in Scotland has been reported over the past 15 days.
Now, it is exactly four months today since the country went into lockdown, so there is no doubt that these figures show the incredible progress that has been made in that time.
But that progress has been hard won and it has been a very painful journey over these past four months in particular for those who have lost someone to this virus. The number of deaths is still a reminder of the impact of the virus and therefore I want to extend my condolences again today to everyone who is grieving somebody that they loved.
In addition, I want to thank again our health and care workers for all of the work that you continue to do through this really challenging time for everyone.
FM @NicolaSturgeon has announced changes to the way people who are shielding can meet with friends and family, which will come into effect tomorrow (24 July).
From 1 August people who were advised to shield will no longer have to do so.
Now, I have one very important issue I want to talk about today – which is changes in our advice to people who are shielding.
It’s now almost four months since we asked those considered to be at the greatest risk from this virus, to shield.
At that time, there was a very high risk that you might be exposed to the virus, and therefore shielding was necessary to keep you safe.
Together with local government and the third sector, we have been able to put in place support for you while you have been shielding– for example access to free food deliveries if necessary.
But I know that shielding has been incredibly difficult – it has separated you from your family and loved ones, it has restricted you in virtually every aspect of your normal lives, and there are very obvious and very real potential harms to your mental health from extended isolation.
For all of those reasons, we’ve always been clear that we won’t ask you to shield longer than you have to.
The infection rate now is much lower than it was in March. And just to give some illustration of that, when the shielding advice started, more than 20% of Covid tests were proving positive, and 150 new cases a day were being reported. Less than a week after shielding started, we were reporting more than 300 new cases a day. Tpoday of course I have reported 16 new cases and that is 0.4% of people testing newly positive
So, as these figures today show, we are now in a very different position to the one we that faced back in March. And as a result – and as we have previously indicated – some further key changes to our advice will take effect from tomorrow for people who are shielding.
Now the information I am about to give you I know can perhaps be a bit difficult to follow as I am saying it. All of the changes I am about to mention are listed in our routemap for shielders which you can find on the Scottish government’s website.
From tomorrow (Friday), you will, if you are shielding, be able to meet indoors with up to 8 people from up to 2 other households, as long as physical distancing is in place.
You will also be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to 15 people from a maximum of 4 other households.
You can also use public transport – including taxis – while wearing a face covering.
You can go to outdoor spaces in pubs and restaurants.
You can go to into indoor shops, pharmacies and indoor markets. You can attend hairdressers and barbers and you can visit museums, galleries, libraries and cinemas.
And children who live with someone who is shielding, can attend formal childcare providers.
Now, all of these changes that I have just mentioned, which you can find more detail on on the website, these will take effect from tomorrow. But our clinical advisers, – who have been closely examining all of the evidence – have also advised us that as things stand right now, assuming no significant deterioration in the position, as things stand right now we will be able to pause the shielding advice all together from 1 Aug.
From that day, the advice for people shielding will then be the same as for those who are simply at heightened risk from Covid – older people, people who receive the flu jab because of a health condition, and people who are pregnant.
This means from the end of next week, you will be advised to follow the guidance for the general population, although we will ask you to be especially careful about hand hygiene and physical distancing.
That will also mean that that children who have been shielding will be able to return to school in August.
And if you have been staying away from your workplace because you have been shielding, you will also be able to return.
However your employer must ensure that you can do so safely.
And of course our advice – not simply for shielding people, but for everyone – remains very strongly that you should continue to work from home whenever that is possible.
I know these changes will be welcome to many of you but they will also, for many of you, create a great deal of anxiety because you have been living in such a restricted way for so long and you will worry about going back to normal and that is completely understandable.
So we are not asking you to stop being careful – and we do not want you to feel under pressure to do anything that you think is unsafe. In fact, we want to do everything we can to help you to feel as safe as possible.
Last month, I indicated that we were looking to develop a range of information and tools to help each of you to make informed decisions about how to stay safe.
We are providing a range of advice on returning to employment and schools. The guidance for schools will be published on 30 July.
For those of you in employment, we have developed a risk assessment tool. That will be available from Monday. It will help your employer understand the adjustments they need to make to help you feel safe.
We are also providing information on what activities are safer, or less risky, than others, and how to undertake them safely. We’ve developed advice on risk factors- and practical information on how to stay safe during everyday activities like going to the shops, visiting friends and family, or using public transport.
You also told us in feedback that you would find it helpful to know what the infection rates are at any given time in your local areas. So we are developing a Covid forecasting service for people who have been shielding. That will allow you to sign up to an SMS update that tells you about your risk of being exposed to Covid in your local area.
And although the food box scheme is ending, you will continue to access priority supermarket delivery slots if you need them, and if you have registered for this service by the end of this month. You will also still be able to go to your Local Authority for support for food provision.
And we will be keeping open our Shielding SMS text messaging service, and our national helpline.
Finally, we are continuing our work to keep you safe after 1 August.
We are strengthening the evidence base about who may need to shield again in the future should we see a resurgence of the virus.
We are continuing our surveys and research to understand your experiences and to offer support that has value to you.
And we will set out the kind of steps we might need to take should there be a spike of infections in the future.
We are changing our guidance now because the infection rate is low now.
But we will continue to monitor this, and if things take a significant turn for the worse – whether nationally or in your local area – we will take the steps we need to in order to keep you as safe as possible. In particular we will contact you and we will give you clear advice on what to do if we are asking you to do anything different.
Before I end, I want to thank everyone who has been shielding. You’ve had to remain in your house and largely apart from all other people, even people in your own household, for months now.
That has been incredibly tough, and it is easy for me to say that when the reality is I actually find it hard to fully imagine just how difficult that must have been. But by doing so, you have protected yourselves, you’ve reassured your loved ones, and helped our health and care services. So a sincere and heartfelt thank you from me to each of you for that.
And I also want to say a few words to people who are not shielding.
Many of you have been actively involved in support for people who have been shielding: whether that is as family, friends, carers, volunteers, council workers, delivery drivers, health and social care professionals, supermarkets, wholesalers, and a whole host of other people so my thanks to all of you for that too.
Secondly – if you are an employer or a school – we need you to work closely with people who have been shielding, in order to take the necessary steps to keep them safe but also to assure them you will keep them safe.
Please do that, reach out to people who have been shielding to understand their needs, and provide that help.
And for all of us, we should understand the worries and concerns of people who have been shielding.
Many people who are shielding will still be nervous about returning to work, or returning to shops and restaurants, or socialising a bit more. All of us should understand that and be as supportive as we can be.
To continue to stop the spread of coronavirus and save lives, there are 5 things we all still need to do.
And finally, this is my final point, shielding and shielding people demonstrate again, and perhaps more powerfully than anything does, how all of us are dependent right now on each other’s actions.
The reason that we can pause shielding, hopefully at the end of next week, is because all of us have stuck to the guidance so far. All of us need to continue to do that, in order that we continue collectively to protect those most at risk.
And that basic idea – that all of us, more than ever, are depending on each other, is the note that I will end on.
We can only reopen services, start to reopen the economy again because infection rates are low. We will only be able to keep all these things open if infection rates stay low.
The virus as we know is still out there, it is still highly infectious and it is still highly dangerous.
So all of us have a part to play in keeping it under control. So let me end with the usual advice that I am going to continue to say as often as I need to in order that everybody understands that if we all stick to this we can keep this virus under control.
That is the FACTS message.
Face coverings in shops, public transport or any enclosed spaces where physical distancing is difficult
Avoid crowded places, whether that’s indoors or outdoors
Clean your hands and clean hard surfaces regularly.
Two metre distancing – that remains the important advice
and self isolate, and book a test, if you have any symptoms.
If we all follow this advice rigorously and rigidly then the progress we have made over these past painful four months will be progress that we can continue to see.
So my thanks to all of you for doing that, in particular today, my thanks to all of you who have been shielding.
