SCOTLAND’s new tiered local lockdown plan will come into force in less than two weeks if approved by parliament, the First Minister has said.

Nicola Sturgeon said some areas may face stricter measures than those currently in force in the central belt, where licensed hospitality venues have been temporarily closed.

She told the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Tuesday that she will update the country about the temporary restrictions on hospitality businesses on Wednesday.

The Cabinet will decide if these restrictions, brought in on October 9 to stem a rise in cases and due to end on October 26, will be extended until the implementation of the tiered framework.

The First Minister set out the timeline for the decisions as she announced 15 coronavirus deaths and 1456 positive cases were recorded in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

 

She told the briefing the new measures in the tiered framework, if approved by MSPs, will come into effect on November 2 – aligning with the UK Government’s new furlough scheme.

Ms Sturgeon said: “What that means is over the course of next week we will be assessing the up to date data and assessing whether all of the country would go into a certain level of the new framework or whether parts of the country would go into one level and other parts of the country into another.

“As part of that we will be considering, of course, whether there are parts of the country that need tougher restrictions than those in place in the central belt right now, or whether there are parts of the country that might be able to have less tough restrictions.

“We need to assess that on the basis of the up to date data.”

Under the temporary restrictions, bars and licensed restaurants in five health board areas – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley – have been forced to close for all but takeaway services.

Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes outside the central belt are only allowed to serve indoor customers between 6am and 6pm with a ban on alcohol inside, although alcoholic drinks can be served until 10pm in outdoor areas.