Sturgeon to update hospitality sector on Covid restrictions

Nicola Surgeon will update Scotland on restrictions affecting the hospitality sector later on Wednesday.

Pubs, bars and restaurants across central Scotland all but closed on October 9 to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The venues have still been able to offer takeaway service, but otherwise have been forced to shut up shop following new restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government.

The restrictions were branded a “death sentence” to the industry.

Cafes across the five health board regions – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian, and Forth Valley – have been exempt from the shutdown as long as they do not serve alcohol.

Across the rest of Scotland, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes have only been able to operate indoors between the hours of 6am and 6pm. They have been prohibited from serving alcohol inside, but can still serve drinks outdoors until 10pm.

The new rules are scheduled to last until Sunday and were put in place following a rise in coronavirus cases.

At the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 briefing on Tuesday, the First Minister said a decision on the temporary measures would be made on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting.

The restrictions could be extended until the implementation of a tiered framework, which will come into force on Monday, November 2 if approved at Holyrood next week.

Speaking about the tiered framework, 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.”