Covid: New Scottish virus restrictions to be announced

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image caption Pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions are concerned about the possible impact of new restrictions on their businesses

New restrictions aimed at slowing a surge in coronavirus cases are to be announced by Scotland's first minister.

Nicola Sturgeon has already stressed the new rules will not signal a return to full lockdown , even for a short period of time.

But there has been speculation travel restrictions could be imposed in areas with higher levels of the virus.

And some pubs, restaurants and other venues could see tighter controls - or even temporary closure.

Ms Sturgeon will confirm the new measures in a speech to the Scottish Parliament at about 14:50 BST.

'Additional targeted steps'

The first minister said in June that she believed Scotland was "not far away" from eliminating the virus.

But the number of people testing positive has increased sharply in recent weeks - in keeping with some other parts of the UK and Europe - despite the country generally taking a more cautious approach to the virus than England.

People in Scotland were banned from visiting other homes last month, with strict limits also in force for outdoor meetings and a 22:00 curfew imposed for pubs and restaurants.

About 730 new cases are being recorded every day in Scotland on average - compared with 285 a fortnight ago - with the number of people dying or being admitted to hospital also increasing.

Ms Sturgeon said on Tuesday the rising number of cases meant "additional targeted steps" were now needed if the country was to attempt to bring the virus back under control before winter.

media caption The first minister says new measures will not amount to the lockdown seen in March

Tourism and hospitality industry leaders have warned that many business will never recover from the impact of any further restrictions.

The first minister has said the new measures would seek to strike a balance between protecting health and the economy.

She has already ruled out a nationwide travel ban or the possibility of people being told to stay at home, and has pledged that schools will only close for the duration of the October holidays.

It seems likely the new restrictions will primarily be targeted at "hotspot" areas with high levels of the virus, potentially alongside some new but possibly less stringent national measures.

The virus has been spreading particularly quickly in the central belt of Scotland - including the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran health board areas.

The rise in some of these areas was partly driven by a series of major outbreaks on university campuses - although the virus is increasingly being transmitted to older people too.

Many more rural areas have seen far fewer cases - and have questioned the need for any new rules to apply to them.

Stephen Leckie, the owner of the Crieff Hydro Hotel in Perthshire, told BBC Scotland on Tuesday that any form of travel restrictions would "in effect be a lockdown" for the tourism and hospitality industries.

He said the October school holiday was generally the last chance for the sector to make money before the end of the year, and predicted many businesses would be forced to close for good if they were hit by new restrictions.

'Emotional strain'

And the Federation of Small Businesses said days of uncertainty about what new measures would be imposed had been "unhelpful" and had caused more emotional strain for employers and staff.

It called on the Scottish government to outline what new support it would be offering to firms impacted by the restrictions, and warned not doing so would further erode the trust of the business community.

The Scottish Conservatives have also called on the Scottish government to offer more than "empty words" to businesses, and said it was time for it to "stop passing the buck back to the UK government".

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