Scottish lockdown easing to be delayed until July
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Scotland has been a surge in cases in recent weeks driven by the Delta variant
The easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland is likely to be pushed back by three weeks, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The whole country had been due to move to the lowest level zero of its five-tier system from 28 June.
However Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that this was likely to be be delayed by three weeks so that more people can be vaccinated against the virus.
The Covid case rate in Scotland is five times higher than it was in early May.
Ms Sturgeon said that "we need to buy sufficient time for vaccination to get ahead and stay ahead of the virus, and that is the reason for caution at this juncture".
She added: "Doing that will give us the best chance, later in July, of getting back on track and restoring the much greater normality that we all crave".
Business organisations said the delay would be "frustrating and painful" for firms who were gearing up to make the most of a boom in summer trade over the coming weeks, and called for greater support to be given.
And opposition parties accused the Scottish government of sending out mixed messages over Covid restrictions in recent weeks.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that plans to lift restrictions in England would be pushed back by four weeks until 19 July.
A formal decision on what level each area of Scotland will be in will not be taken until next week, but Ms Sturgeon said it was "reasonable to indicate now that I think it unlikely that any part of the country will move down a level" as planned.
It means the country's mainland council areas will remain in either level one or level two, although many island communities including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are already in level zero.
Ms Sturgeon said the vaccination programme was weakening the link between the rising number of cases - largely driven by the so-called Delta variant that was first detected in India - and serious illness and deaths.
But she said there were still too many people who have not yet had both doses of the vaccine.
She also said she did not want to "commit to firm dates" for easing restrictions, saying she was "not going to give false guarantees" in the face of an "unpredictable virus".
Thousands of supporters have been allowed to gather in a Fan Zone in Glasgow to watch Euro 2020 matches
The Scottish government says the entire adult population will have been offered an appointment for a first dose of the vaccine by the end of next week, with everyone due to have had their first dose by 18 July - two weeks ahead of schedule.
It is also planning for the possibility of booster vaccines against Covid-19 in the autumn.
The first minister added: "The vaccination programme is going exceptionally well and it is being rolled out just as quickly as supplies allow. But there is still a significant proportion of the population that isn't yet fully vaccinated.
"To be blunt, that remains our biggest vulnerability at this stage - and it is a significant one."
While the wider easing of restrictions is likely to be delayed, ministers will consider whether some rules could be changed to correct "perceived anomalies".
Many soft play owners, for example, have questioned why their facilities remain closed in level two areas while trampoline centres are allowed to open.
Questions have also been asked about why thousands of fans are allowed to gather in a Euro 2020 fan zone in Glasgow, but parents are not allowed to attend outdoor nursery graduations.
The government is also to publish the outcome of a review of physical distancing rules, along with a report on what life could look like once Scotland moves beyond level zero - which Ms Sturgeon said she hoped could still happen "later in the summer".
She said breaking the link between cases and hospital admissions would allow for a move to a "fundamentally different way of dealing with this virus" with "far, far less restrictions and hopefully no meaningful restrictions at all".
Meanwhile, the finance ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling for an urgent meeting with him to discuss the financial recovery from the pandemic, including the furlough scheme.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said people would be "frustrated" that restrictions looked set to continue for "weeks or even months", pressing for more detail on when the vaccination programme would be complete.
He said: "We had all hoped for a summer of freedom but instead this stubborn virus is determined to keep us scunnered instead.
"It's disappointing that there was no further hope or information for people planning weddings, businesses waiting to know when they can reopen or parents desperately hoping to see their children graduate from nursery."
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for called for action to speed up vaccinations and the publishing of hot-spot protocols.
He added: "In order to maintain public trust and confidence we need consistent communications, consistent decision-making, adequate support for businesses and employees alongside a robust vaccination programme, and hot-spot protocols.
"I accept what the first minister has said around the delay, but there has been mixed messages that I think do not help maintain public trust.
"We have also seen inconsistent decision making: why is it okay to have 3,000 fans at a fan zone, but parents cannot attend a nursery graduation outdoors?"
Ms Sturgeon said she understood why some people would be "nervous" about the fan zone, but said she was a "highly regulated environment" and was "confident it is low risk based on public health advice".
