Nicola Sturgeon has delayed lifting lockdown restrictions for most of Scotland due to a surge in Covid cases.

Some parts of the country will move to Level 1 of the Scottish Government’s Covid route map from Saturday but the majority of its central belt will remain in Level 2.

Edinburgh and Midlothian, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, the three Ayrshire areas, North and South Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire and Stirling will all be kept under tighter restrictions.

However, Glasgow city, which was kept in Level 3 when measures eased in the rest of the country on May 17, will move to Level 2 from midnight on Friday.

This means that Glaswegians will be able to meet up in homes with friends and family, drink alcohol in pubs and restaurants, and travel out of the city.

Ms Sturgeon said the outbreak there had stabilised with case numbers falling slightly – but urged people to remain cautious as infection rates remain high.

Under the government’s route map, MSPs had planned to move Scotland into Level 1 from Monday June 7.

The first minister told MSPs on Tuesday that the move to keep most areas in Level 2 was just a ‘slight slow down of easing’ rules to allow more people to get vaccinated amid rising rates of the Indian variant.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video

She said: ‘It is important to stress that this is a pause, not a step backwards. And Level 2 is not lockdown.’

‘And taking a cautious approach now – while more people get fully vaccinated – gives us the best chance of staying on the right track overall,’ the first minister added.

Under Level 2 restrictions, six people from three households can meet up inside homes and stay overnight, while hospitality venues are allowed to serve alcohol indoors.

Those moving to Level 1 areas will be able to meet outside and indoors in public places in larger groups.

Numbers at events, weddings and funerals can also increase, and pubs can open slightly later indoors.

Scotland currently has the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19 of the four nations of the UK.

But Ms Sturgeon said there are ‘many parts of mainland Scotland where cases are at very low levels and broadly stable or where case numbers might appear to be rising, but we are assured that they relate to clusters that are being managed’.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

Source: Read Full Article