Glasgow kept in Level 3 for ‘at least’ another week but East Renfrewshire not moving up, Nicola Sturgeon confirms

GLASGOW will remain in Level 3 of lockdown restrictions for “at least” another week – but East Renfrewshire is not joining it, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today.

The First Minister was considering stricter regulations for the neighbouring region after it overtook Glasgow as Scotland’s Covid hotspot this week.

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Nicola Sturgeon made a lockdown update todayCredit: PA

But at her coronavirus briefing today, the Nats chief said East Renfrewshire will remain under Level 2 lockdown restrictions.

Making the announcement, she revealed a level move was not required as the “steep rise” in cases has been tracked to household clusters and not the Indian variant.

In Glasgow, however, the mutant strain continues to drive a rise in Covid cases in the southside, in Ms Sturgeon’s own constituency.

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As a result, the First Minister “regrettably confirmed” Scotland’s biggest city will remain in the second highest rung of restrictions for at least another week.

She said Glasgow has “not turned the corner yet” in controlling the virus, but hoped Level 3 restrictions will not be in place for “much longer” – vowing to review the situation again next week.

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East Renfrewshire has overtaken Glasgow as Scotland’s Covid hotspot

Being kept in Level 3 while the rest of Scotland is in Level 2 or lower means locals are banned under law from leaving the area apart from for a list of exemptions.

But it was better news for residents in Moray, currently in Level 3, who will be moved down to Level 2 from midnight tonight after cases “improved significantly”.

We told how the rate of cases in East Renfrewshire, which shares a council border with Glasgow, rose to 118.3 per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 17, while in the city itself was 112.1.

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Case rates in Moray, which was previously Scotland’s Covid hotspot, fell to 36.5 per 100,000 people over the same period.

Across the country, new cases have risen by an average of 25 per cent and the R number is feared to be “slightly” above one again.

In a targeted bid to slow the spread of the Indian variant in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon today announced a travel ban to three areas in England with high cases of the mutant strain – Bedford, Bolton, and Blackburn & Darwen.

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