Nicola Sturgeon announces five-tier system of lockdowns for Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed parts of a five-tier coronavirus lockdown system for Scotland in a bid to drive down cases.

Speaking at the daily Covid-19 briefing, she said the application of each grade of restrictions would be reviewed on a weekly basis – ranging from Level 0 to Level 4.

Ms Sturgeon said Level 1 and Level 2 are the closest to normal the country can be without effective treatment or a vaccine, while the highest grade would be more similar to a full lockdown.

But she told the briefing: “We do not envisage returning to a situation as severe as the lockdown imposed in late March.”

The new set of restrictions has been anticipated since a similar three-tiered system was introduced in England by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

If approved at Holyrood next week, the new measures will come into force in Scotland on Monday November 2.

Scotland has recorded 18 deaths from coronavirus and 1,401 positive tests in the past 24 hours, Ms Sturgeon said.

The First Minister told the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – has risen to 2,688.

Ms Sturgeon said 54,016 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 52,615 the previous day.

The daily test positivity rate is 8 per cent, down from 9.2 per cent on Thursday.

Of the new cases, 493 are in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 413 in Lanarkshire, 169 in Lothian, and 117 in Ayrshire and Arran.

There are 969 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, up by 41 in 24 hours.

Of these patients, 76 are in intensive care, a rise of two.

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