Worship sites in Scotland are due to reopen for communal celebrations on 26 March, for Easter and other religious holidays, including Passover and Ramadan, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
In a move that would ease restrictions on social gatherings in the north of the border compared to England, Ms. Sturgeon also brought forward a Friday date, at which four people from two homes would be allowed to meet in outdoor spaces, including private gardens .
And he said the rule would be relaxed further for ages 12–17 to allow four teenagers from four different homes to reunite with friends.
Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh that 15 people would be involved in non-contact outdoor games from 12 March, if they accepted a ‘slight’ change in the rules.
And he announced that a national silence would be held on March 23 – the first lockout anniversary – in memory of all those who lost their lives.
Ms. Sturgeon expressed her “anger and frustration” over the behavior of Rangers football fans, who committed massive lockdown ban violations on Sunday, celebrating their team’s championship victory.
“The behavior observed over the weekend was shameful and selfish,” she said.
The Prime Minister met with Police Chief Ian Livingstone on Tuesday afternoon with football officials later in the week to consider further measures, and indicated that the future of elite football matches could be threatened.
He said football clubs “needed to show a lot of leadership on such occasions” and that the Rangers “could do more to prevent the situation from happening again this weekend”.
He said: “The point is that the elite game has been allowed to continue for now so that the fans – we are all deprived right now and in life – can see and be seen and support their teams Can.
“It would be very unfair for the minority to spoil it and I really hope that doesn’t happen. But given the fragility of the situation we are facing right now, we cannot turn our eyes on what happened over the weekend.
The Scottish Government has so far been more cautious with Boris Johnson’s administration in London setting up a timetable to remove the lockdown, setting dates only until the last week of April, which is expected to return to a system in Scotland. Regional level in. Mr. Johnson has designated June 21 as the day he expects most of the restrictions to be lifted.
But Ms. Sturgeon told MSP that she would set a strong timeline for the reopening of locations next week, including a non-essential store, pubs and restaurants, and sightseeing.
The announcements were made when the Prime Minister confirmed that 466 positive coronovirus tests and 19 deaths from Kovid-19 were recorded in Scotland in the last 24 hours period.
He declared a possible, but unconfirmed, new case of the Brazilian P1 variant in Scotland, involving a man who traveled from Rio de Janeiro via Paris on 19 February.
But she insisted that the infected person followed all the rules for self-isolation and posed no risk to the community at large.
Introducing the change in rules regarding places of worship, Ms. Sturgeon stated that from 26 March, a maximum of 50 people would be allowed to attend, provided that the premises allow for large-scale social distance.
“I know that despite the very extraordinary efforts made by faith groups to reach their communities, the ban on community worship was really difficult for many people.”
“This change is relatively minor, it is proportionate and we believe it can be done relatively safely. But it will also collectively allow more people to gain strength, comfort and inspiration from acts of mass worship.
Ms Sturgeon said about 40% of adults in Scotland have now received their first dose of the Kovid vaccine, which includes people aged 50–59.
And she said that after the recent drop in vaccine supply, she expected a “very significant acceleration” in the jab program from mid-March as the stock picked up.
Ms Sturgeon said: “If the data allows us to reduce more restrictions than previously indicated, we would not hesitate to do so. I am well aware of how difficult frequent restrictions are and I know that they become more difficult to bear over time.
“I also know … that the progress of vaccination makes us impatient as soon as possible.
“But I’m sure, absolutely certain, that quickly easing sanctions would also be a mistake that we will regret.”
Total coffee specialist. Hardcore reader. Incurable music scholar. Web guru. Freelance troublemaker. Problem solver. Travel trailblazer.
