Nicola Sturgeon EXTENDS Scottish lockdown until mid-February

Nicola Sturgeon today declared that lockdown in Scotland will be extended to mid-February despite signs cases have flattened off.

Dashing hopes of a loosening from the end of this month, the First Minister said she was being ‘cautious’ and more evidence was needed that the outbreak was on a ‘downward trajectory’.

The announcement came amid fears the brutal curbs in England will need to stay in place past March, with Boris Johnson saying the situation remains ‘serious’ despite good progress on vaccinations.  

The whole Scottish mainland and several islands have been under tough restrictions since early January, with schools closed a ‘stay at home’ message in force.

It was initially due to run until February, but was reviewed by Ms Sturgeon and her ministers this morning. 

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘We need to see these trends continue, to be more certain that this phase of the epidemic is now on a downward trajectory.

‘And second, we need to be realistic that any improvement we are seeing is down, at this stage, to the fact that we are staying at home and reducing our interactions.

‘Any relaxation of lockdown while case numbers, even though they might be declining, nevertheless remain very high, could quickly send the situation into reverse.’

 She said: ‘It is for all these reasons that the Cabinet decided this morning to maintain the restrictions which are currently in place.

‘That means that the lockdown restrictions – including the strict stay-at-home requirement – will remain in place across mainland Scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of February.’