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Nicola Sturgeon rules out 'circuit breaker' national lockdown in Scotland

James Cheng-Morris
·Freelance news writer, Yahoo UK
·2 min read

Watch: Nicola Sturgeon rules out another lockdown ‘at this stage’

  • Nicola Sturgeon rules out temporary national lockdown in Scotland as COVID infections continue to rise

  • First minister promises no travel restrictions, no shutting down of economy and no school closures

  • However, she suggests further restrictions, on top of household mixing ban, are imminent

  • Visit the Yahoo homepage for more stories

Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out a “circuit breaker” lockdown in Scotland which would have seen the country undergo a temporary shutdown.

It follows reports that Sturgeon had been set to impose a “circuit breaker” at the Scottish government’s coronavirus briefing on Tuesday.

Speaking at the press conference, Sturgeon promised: "Let me be clear: we are not proposing another lockdown at this stage, not even on a temporary basis.

“We are not going to be asking you to stay in your own homes in the way we did back in March."

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 1: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP arrives for First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood on October 1, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Fraser Bremner - Pool/Getty Images)
Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out a 'circuit breaker' national lockdown in Scotland. (Getty Images)

However, after reporting a further 800 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Scotland in the previous 24 hours – up 113 from 697 on Monday – she warned further restrictions are set to be imposed, adding to the ban on households mixing introduced two weeks ago.

Sturgeon said: “We cannot guarantee that [household mixing ban] will be sufficient, and the volume of new cases that we are now seeing, combined with the prospect of further increases, is the reason the government is receiving very strong public health advice that action over and above the existing restrictions is necessary.”

She said any restrictions will be imposed with “wider harms” in mind, such as damage to people’s livelihoods and wellbeing.

Sturgeon also promised there will be no travel restrictions, no shutting down of the economy and no school closures.

She suggested new restrictions will be announced on Wednesday when she makes a statement in the Scottish Parliament.

"We are considering what additional targeted steps we can take over the next couple of weeks, in addition to the household restrictions currently in place."

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