Coronavirus in Scotland: NHS Lothian pleads with residents to help Edinburgh stay out of lockdown

The health board has issued a stark message as the area approaches a bank holiday weekend coupled with good weather.

NHS Lothian has issued a plea to all residents to follow the latest guidelines, and help the area stay out of lockdown.

Edinburgh and the Lothians is about to enjoy a holiday weekend, with good weather forecast, leading to fears that people may flout the current guidelines.

Coronavirus in Scotland: NHS Lothian please with residents to help stay out of lockdown. Neil Hanna Photography

Dr Duncan McCormick, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Lothian said: “COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon, and while I know people may be growing weary hearing about it, it is critical that we all still play our part in helping to stop the spread of the virus.

“Using common sense and following the guidance is critical to this.”

The current Scottish guidelines say that whether indoors or outside, no more than six people in total (from a maximum of two households) are able to meet at any time.

People must also remember to continue to observe physical distancing and stay 2m apart from people in other households.

Hand washing is still crucial and face coverings must be worn on public transport, in shops and in bars and restaurants when not seated at a table.

Dr McCormick added: “The guidelines mean that activities like pub crawls, house parties, and big meet ups at the park or the beach should not be happening at this time.

“I know it’s frustrating not being able to socialise like we used to, but we all need to do our bit.

“Across Lothian, we are seeing COVID cases rise and if we don’t act now, the situation could easily get out of hand.

“The reality is, that unless we adhere to the rules more rigorously, we could soon be faced with tighter restrictions and even a further lockdown.

“COVID is serious, it is unpredictable and it can be deadly.

“For younger, healthier people you might not think that COVID could impact you, but I would urge you all to stop and think - through your actions you could risk passing COVID on to your family or friends.”

On Friday, Nicola Sturgeon said that the country was at a “critical point” adding that this weekend will be key in deciding what comes next.

The First Minister said: “Today I want to give the nation advance notice, that the coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions.

"If we want to avoid another full-scale lockdown - which we all do - doing nothing almost certainly isn’t an option.

“This weekend will be critical in the assessment of how best to do that.”

All Scottish residents are encouraged to downloads the NHS Protect app, which can be found here.

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