FINAL FLING
Covid in Scotland – Scots hit the pubs for last hurrah before 16-day booze ban starts tonight
SCOTS flocked to pubs and bars for a final hurrah last night before the 16-day booze ban comes into force at 6pm today.
Revellers were pictured in Edinburgh necking last orders, with massive queues snaking around some of the bars in the city.
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The Scottish First Minister has outlined tough new booze bans for the next two weeks to curb the rise in infections - as the UK-wide infection rate for coronavirus doubled in a week.
It comes as Scotland has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the first time.
And The Department of Health says there have been a further 14,162 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK - with 70 deaths.
In Scotland pubs and bars will be ordered to stop serving alcohol inside from 6pm today until Sunday, October 25, as part of a "brake to the virus".
And places inside Scotland's so-called central belt - covering around 3.4million people - will be ordered to shut their doors completely.
Places without an alcohol licence and holiday accommodation can remain open, and "financial compensation" will be offered to places which must close.
And the new rules only apply inside - people in the non-central belt area will still be able to drink and eat outside up until 10pm. Takeaways are allowed to continue.
The new lockdown for Scotland will include:
- Pubs and bars to shut for 16 days in five key areas of Scotland including Glasgow
- No alcohol can be served in restaurants & cafes across the country - but they can remain open outside the restricted areas if they don't serve booze
- People can still use holiday accommodation but they should stay local if they can
- Indoor hospitality is banned from opening between 6pm and 6am - but you can still go outdoors
- There are exemptions for events such as weddings, and meals in hotels for guests will be allowed
- Curbs in Scotland's central belt will include bans on activities like group gym classes, adult contact sports and other live events
- £40million is available to venues who have to shut
- Venues must return to the 2m rule - which was cut down as restrictions were lifted
- But there was no talk of a ban on supermarkets selling alcohol after hours like in Wales
The move will pile on pressure for Boris Johnson to do the same in parts of the North West and North East where infection rates have been skyrocketting in recent weeks.
He's said to be mulling whether to shut pubs and hospitality venues there too to try and clamp down on cases.
Ms Sturgeon told the nation today that Scotland is likely to return to the peak of the coronavirus as seen in the spring, by the end of October if no action is taken.
Scotland is four weeks behind France and six weeks behind Spain, she said, urging people to "please stick with it" on the rules.
"We need to do more, and we need to do it now," she added.
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But she denied that the new measures were a lockdown, and that they were need to avoid another nationwide shutdown.
There is already a ban on meeting people from outside your own household indoors in Scotland, and people still should work from home if they can.
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