JOHN Swinney today warned Scotland could be heading for lockdown measures like England’s – even though his government’s new “levels” regime has yet to kick in.
The Deputy First Minister said he “wasn’t surprised” the Prime Minister “felt the necessity” to bring in the curbs south of the border – with a near return to curbs seen in March – given “the severity of the situation in England”.
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Mr Swinney was asked on BBC Sunday Politics Scotland if he would rule out a national lockdown in Scotland “in the coming weeks” as we go into the Level 0-4 system from tomorrow at 6am.
He replied: “I can’t categorically rule that out, no. It would be foolish to do so because we do face a very serious situation.
Nicola Sturgeon responds after Boris Johnson orders new national lockdown in England
“We took the scientific advice that was given to us in September, and we applied restrictions right away.
“We have not been able to visit other households in Scotland in any part of the country since September 22, and indeed in some parts of Scotland, in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, people have not been able to visit each other’s houses since this is the early part of September.
“So we’ve taken early steps to try to stem the increase of coronavirus based on the scientific advice that was given to us and have acted promptly.
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“But I cannot rule out the possibility of further measures or indeed a national lockdown being required should the circumstances arise.
“Now we hope that the measures that we’ve taken so far, the levels system, the restrictions that we’ve put in place – tough though they are – will be enough to ensure that we can avoid a national lockdown.
“But it must remain one of the possibilities that exists for us.”
We told how Nicola Sturgeon responded to the lockdown down south – saying that Scottish Government chiefs will take decisions that best suit…
