North-east is set to move beyond Level 0

From next Monday, August 9 the North-east and the rest of Scotland will move beyond the current level 0 restrictions.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that key milestones for the move had been met including vaccination take up.

She said: ” It is the combination of the steady decline in cases, the success of vaccination helping to weaken the link between cases and serious illness, and of course our understanding of the social, health and economic harms that continued restrictions cause – all underpinned by our obligation to ensure that any restrictions that remain in place are lawful, in other words that they are both necessary and proportionate – that forms the basis for our decision today to move beyond level 0.

“The move beyond level 0 will entail the lifting of most of the remaining legally imposed restrictions – most notably on physical distancing and limits to the size of social gatherings.

“It also means that from August 9, no venues will be legally required to close.

“This change is significant and it is hard-earned.

“It is important to be clear that it does not signal the end of the pandemic or a return to life exactly as we knew it before Covid struck.

“Face coverings must be worn in all the same indoor settings as is the case now.

“We will keep this under review, but my expectation is that face coverings are likely to be mandated in law for some time to come.

“Second, Test & Protect will continue to contact-trace positive cases.

“To assist with this, there will be an ongoing requirement for indoor hospitality and similar venues to collect the contact details of customers.

“Thirdly, we will continue to work closely with local incident management teams on appropriate outbreak control measures, including the use of localised restrictions in future if necessary.

“We will also continue to use travel restrictions, as and when necessary, to restrict the spread of outbreaks and protect against the risk of importation of new variants.

“Fourthly, we will continue to advise home working where possible for now.

“I know most businesses are not planning a wholesale return to the office, but recongise that a return for some staff will be beneficial to them and to employers.

“But it is vital that this gradual approach continues.

“We will also encourage employers to consider for the longer term, as indeed the Scottish Government is doing, a hybrid model of home and office working – which may, of course, have benefits beyond the need to control a virus.

“Fifth, while we expect to see the careful return of large scale events, we will for a limited period, keep in place the processes through which organisers of outdoor events of more than 5000 and indoor events of more than 2000 will have to apply for permission.

“And this will allow us and local authorities simply to be assured of the arrangements in place to reduce the risk of large scale gatherings.

“And last – but by no means least – we will continue to issue clear guidance to assist individuals and businesses to reduce the risk of transmission as much as possible.”

She added: “And even though the law will not stipulate physical distancing from Monday, we will continue to advise the public that – especially indoors – keeping a safe distance from people in other households and avoiding crowded places will minimise risk.

It was also confirmed that from Monday an adult who is identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for will no longer be required automatically to self-isolate for 10 days.

Instead, if someone is double-vaccinated – with at least two weeks since the second dose – and if they have no symptoms, they should get a PCR test as soon as possible.

And if the PCR test is negative, self-isolation can then be ended.

And as PCR results come back quickly – frequently within 24 hours – this will greatly reduce the amount of time that many people will need to spend in self-isolation.

If a young person aged five to 17 is identified as a close contact, they will need to take a PCR test – but they can end their self-isolation if they test negative.

Children under the age of five will be encouraged but not required to take PCR tests.

Testing will still be required in school settings.

In addition, Test and Protect will implement revised guidance for under 18s, including in schools.

This means that the blanket isolation of whole classes will no longer be routine.

Instead a more targeted approach will identify close contacts at highest risk of infection.

So fewer young people will be asked to self-isolate, and most will be asked to self-isolate for a much shorter period of time.

It has been decided to retain, for the first six weeks of the new academic term, most of the other mitigations that are currently in place in schools.

This also reflects the unique environment of schools, where large numbers of unvaccinated children and young people mix with adult staff.

So for up to six weeks – subject then to review – there will be a continued requirement for staff to keep at least a metre distance from each other and from children and young people while on the school estate.

Current requirements for face coverings in schools for staff and for children aged 12 or over will remain.

That includes asking young people and staff in secondary schools to wear face coverings during lessons, and while inside school buildings.

New guidance, published today, makes clear that all schools and daycare services for children must have access to CO2 monitoring – through either fixed or mobile devices – and that these should be used to assess the quality of ventilation in schools and childcare settings, and identify any necessary improvements.

Local authorities will have access to an additional £10 million to support this work.

Local authorities and schools will also ask all secondary pupils, and all school staff, to take a lateral flow test one or two days before returning after the holidays, and then to take tests twice a week after that.

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