Coronavirus Scotland: Lockdown may ease at end of the month

Outdoor gatherings of up to six people from outside the same household will be allowed in Northern Ireland from tomorrow, First Minister Arlene Foster has said. 

Mrs Foster announced this afternoon a series of lockdown measures will now be eased, including allowing places of worship to reopen for private prayer as long as people socially distance. 

Golfers will be allowed to return to fairways while cinemas, concerts and live theatre will be permitted with audiences staying in their vehicles – but a ban remains in place on indoor gatherings of family members. 

Mrs Foster said the relaxing of some of the rules had been ‘made possible by the vast majority of you faithfully following the public health advice on self-isolation’. 

It came as Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland could start taking ‘concrete steps’ to ease its coronavirus lockdown at the end of the month – nearly three weeks after Boris Johnson set out his exit plan.

The Scottish First Minister said she had stuck with the draconian restrictions ‘a bit longer’ to ensure that the outbreak was ‘suppressed’.

But she said she expected the ‘journey to normality’ will be able to begin at the end of May, despite warning that the disease has ‘not gone away’.  

The measures – due to be unveiled as part of a ‘route map’ on Thursday – could be broadly similar to the blueprint published by the PM last week. 

That has seen people encouraged to go back to work where possible, as well as slightly looser rules on sports and limited contact between households.

Dominic Raab told the daily Downing Street press conference this evening that the rules in England will not be further loosened until June at the earliest. 

The Foreign Secretary said: ‘It is only by collecting and monitoring the data that we will be able to take the next step… and that will be no earlier than June 1.’ 

Ms Sturgeon previously complained the decision by the UK Government to abandon its ‘stay at home’ mantra in favour of ‘stay alert’ could cost lives, and urged Scots to ignore the advice.    

Speaking at her daily briefing in Edinburgh at lunchtime, Ms Sturgeon said anyone over the age of five with symptoms will now be able to apply for a coronavirus test – although it is far from clear there will be capacity for them to receive one as patients, frontline workers, and care home residents will be prioritised.

The SNP leader said she expected to make changes to lockdown after the next review date at the end of the month.

The tweaks could include some outdoor sports being allowed, the opening of garden centres and letting people meet those from other households, provided social distancing is followed.

The First Minister also said more information will be set out regarding when schools might reopen.  

‘Within two weeks, my hope is that we will be taking some concrete steps on the journey back to normality,’ she said.

‘As I’ve said before, it won’t be normality as we knew it because the virus will not have gone away, but it will be a journey to a better balance – I hope – than the one we have today.

‘As we take each step, we must make sure that the ground beneath us is as solid as possible.

‘That’s why sticking with the lockdown restrictions a bit longer to suppress the virus more is so important, because that will mean we can start to take these steps with the confidence that we have alternative means of effectively keeping it under control.’

Ms Sturgeon followed the Westminster government in announcing that all care home residents and staff will now be routinely tested.

And she said there will now be an expansion in screening, saying that anyone over the age of five with any of the symptoms will be able to book in.

Checks will be available at drive-in centres across the country, or through any of the mobile testing centres, with the scheme being a collaboration between the Scottish and UK governments.

While key workers will be prioritised, Ms Sturgeon said others will be able to book the tests online.