As new cases continue to spring up here and there in Scotland, the government has decided to implement what they call a circuit breaker lockdown in an attempt to restrict the coronavirus spread in the country. Under the new lockdown measures, indoor alcohol serving has been banned to get people to interact less and protect themselves.
Social places such as restaurants and pubs will now have a time restriction on them; they will only be allowed to open for indoor serving from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening during the sixteen-day curfew period. During this period, however, they will not be allowed to serve alcohol.
Since this will have a significant blow to the country’s hospitality industry, Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced to supply the industry £40 million in funding to protect businesses and make sure the damage is done from these measures is kept to a minimum.
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In an attempt to counter social isolation, alcohol license fewer cafes will only be allowed to remain open till 6 pm. People in the central belt of the country are also requested to avoid traveling on public transport unless they have to for at least the coming two weeks.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already stated that Scotland would not be going back to the strict lockdown that the country experienced in March. According to the current circuit breaker lockdown, people aren’t restricted to remain at home; schools are also not being asked to shut down. What’s more vulnerable individuals are also not being forced to shield themselves.
Each day however the country is experiencing 780 new coronavirus cases daily and as many as 80 percent increases in hospitalizations this week alone. Sturgeon acknowledges that this is cause for alarm and that now something should be done to stop this outbreak from spreading again.
He says if steps are not taken to limit the transmission it is likely that the rate of infections may return to what they saw in spring by the end of October.
The R number according to scientists may be as dangerously high as 1.7, which means every ten infected individuals can go and transmit the virus to 17 other people.
As many as 1,054 people have caught the virus in Scotland already in the previous 24 hours, the day before there were comparatively only 800 cases. While so far there has been one death, 319 people have been hospitalized and have coronavirus; this number has increased from just 54. Among these patients, 28 are hospitalized for intensive care.
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Shops in the country are also required to enforce the 2-meter rule for the time being and staff at such places are also required to employ 1 way systems until further notified.
After letting the country know of the newly placed measures, she sympathized with the population and let them know that the government is very much aware of the weight of the measures they are taking and also of the repercussions that come with them but for the betterment of the country, this is important.
The circuit breaker lockdown will ensure that the country would not be as affected but the health risks brought by coronavirus will be effectively curbed.
