Coronavirus: Scotland locks down for January

A lockdown for most of Scotland will be introduced from midnight 5 January. Nicola Sturgeon announced the measure as a necessity to stop the NHS becoming overrun with a new and more contagious variant of Coronavirus.

The First Minister told the Scottish Parliament that there will be a legal requirement for people in Tier 4 areas to stay at home for the rest of the month of January. Tier 4 areas include all of mainland Scotland and the Isle of Skye. 

Schools will also remain closed to most pupils until the start of February at the earliest. Car owners are being urged to stay at home and only use their vehicles for essential journeys to buy food, medicine or commuting. 

The lockdown comes as the new Covid-19 strain continues to wreak havoc. Sturgeon said the increased transmissibility of the new variant means that Scotland's current restrictions may not be enough to bring the R number back below one. Sturgeon also mentioned that she's more concerned about the situation now than at any time since March last year. 

The announcement will mean an extra two weeks of home learning for most children, but schools will remain open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers who cannot work from home. The Scottish Government had already extended the Christmas break until 11 January, with the original plan for remote learning to continue until 18 January.

Scotland reported 1905 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, down from the 2464 reported on Sunday. The daily test positivity rate stood at 15 per cent, a small drop from 15.2 per cent on Sunday.

The following islands in Argyll and Bute are at level 3: The Isle of Coll, the Isle of Colonsay, the Isle of Erraid, the Isle of Gometra, the Isle of Iona, the Isle of Islay, the Isle of Jura, the Isle of Mull, the Isle of Oronsay, the Isle of Tiree, and the Isle of Ulva. All islands in Highland are in level 3, except the Isle of Skye.

"I'm sorry to ask for further sacrifices, after nine long months of them. But these sacrifices are necessary.  And the difference between now and last March is that with the help of vaccines, we now have confidence that they will pave the way to brighter days ahead. So - for everyone's sake and safety - please stick with it and stay home," said the First Minister.

She added: "The Government will be doing everything we can to vaccinate people as quickly as possible."

You can read the relevant Government advice about the lockdown here.