UK coronavirus live: Nicola Sturgeon says Boris Johnson lockdown changes not safe for Scotland
Scotland’s R number is between 0.7 to 1, Sturgeon said. She believes that R number has come down from above 3.
Nicola Sturgeon said if you’re coming from England to Scotland for reasons not deemed essential purposes you may be breaking the law.
“If you are in Scotland, the law of Scotland applies and the law states right now you can only be outside of your house right now for essential reason.”
When asked if Scotland is remaining in lockdown because it is slightly behind on the infection curve, Sturgeon said:
Based on our assessment of the R number, we think we are slightly higher than the rest of the UK.
During the press briefing, Sturgeon specified that in Scotland, people should not be sunbathing or having a picnic during lockdown
Throughout the briefing, Sturgeon warned against lifting the lockdown too soon as it would it only result in the country in being in some form of a lockdown for much longer and lead to the loss of many more lives.
Sturgeon called on Scottish people not to be distracted by other messages from other nations within the UK.
Sturgeon reiterates that the lockdown measures will remain the same in Scotland. “To combat this virus we still need to stay apart from each other, we still need to stay at home.”
Nicola Sturgeon said the key message remains the same in Scotland: “Stay at home.” Businesses and schools are not being encouraged to open.
Speaking of Boris Johnson’s road map to reopen the country, Sturgeon said:
I want to reiterate that those announcements do not apply yet here in Scotland. That is not let me stress for any political reasons. It is because the Scottish government is not yet confident that these changes can be made safely in Scotland yet without running the risk of the virus potentially running out of control again.
The second coronavirus bill set to go through Scottish parliament will provide more financial support for carers, Sturgeon said.
In the past 24 hours, five more people have died after contracting the coronavirus in Scotland bringing the total number to 1,862, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said in her daily press briefing.
She added 13,627 people had now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, a rise of 141 from 13,486 the day before.
There are 1,453 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, down 31 from 1,484 the previous day. Of these patients, 80 are in intensive care, a fall of two.
One of Britain’s biggest undertakers has seen the proportion of clients choosing lower-cost funerals during the coronavirus pandemic triple.
Dignity, which operates more than 800 funeral locations across the UK, said that in April the proportion of clients choosing a “ simple” funeral jumped to 60% of all services conducted, up from 20% between January and March.
The company charges up to £3,578 for a full service funeral and about £2,047 for a basic package.
It said the restrictions on funeral services meant that the average cost of its full service reduced by about £400 in April to £3,150, as it withdrew add-ons such as limousines. The company performed 20,000 funerals in the first quarter this year.
Overall, Dignity said the average income per funeral fell from £2,648 in the first quarter to £2,200 in April.
