Coronavirus: Nicola Sturgeon lays out roadmap for easing Scotland’s lockdown from next week

Scotland will begin to emerge from its coronavirus lockdown in phases starting from next week, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The first minister confirmed a “careful” relaxation of restrictions was planned from 28 May, allowing people to sunbathe in parks, meet members of another household outside and travel short distances for exercise.

Outdoor activities such as golf, fishing and tennis will also be permitted in the first of the Scottish government’s four-phase plan to return to daily life.

Under the new rules, waste and recycling centres will begin reopen as well as outdoor businesses such as farming and forestry, while construction sites can start a phased return to work.

Workers in other sectors will continue to be encouraged to stay at home if they can work remotely, the guidance shows.

There will be a gradual reopening of drive-through food outlets, and garden centres and plant nurseries will be able to start operating with social distancing measures in place.

People “will be able to travel – preferably by walking or cycling – to a location near their local community for recreation”, Ms Sturgeon said, but said they should “stay within or close to their own local area” if possible.

From 11 August, all schools in Scotland will reopen, using a “blended model of part-time in-school and part-time at-home learning” – and teachers can start to return during June to prepare classrooms for the new term.

Setting out the new roadmap, Ms Sturgeon said that any changes to the lockdown “cannot be set in stone”, and warned the public that the threat of a second wave of the virus remained “very real”.

She told MSPs: “We will conduct formal reviews at least every three weeks to assess if and to what extent we can move from one phase to the next, but we will be constantly alive to when we can go faster, or whether we have gone too far.

“It may be that we can’t do everything in a particular phase at the same time. A single phase may span more than one review period. Some measures may be lifted earlier than planned, some later.”

The SNP leader said lockdown had been necessary to “mitigate the massive harm caused by the Covid-19 virus” but it was creating its own harms, such as loneliness, isolation, deepening inequalities and economic damage.

She said: “There is no completely risk free way of lifting lockdown but we must mitigate the risks as much as we can and we must not at any stage act rashly or recklessly.

“For all our progress, this virus has not gone away. It continues to pose a significant threat to health and if we move too quickly or without proper care, it could run out of control again very quickly.”

Social distancing and hand hygiene remain key planks of the Scottish government’s advice, and people are urged to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces, such as when using public transport.

The announcement of Scotland’s phased approach to lifting lockdown comes more than a week after Boris Johnson announced separate plans to ease restrictions south of the border.

Back in Westminster, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “I would say that we welcome today’s announcement and it shows our UK wide-approach is working. We set the roadmap two weeks ago, and now the devolved administrations are following that roadmap at the right speed for them.

“People are choosing to move at what they consider to be the right speed for them, but we remain committed to confronting the virus as one United Kingdom and working closely with the devolved administrations.”

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