Coronavirus Scotland RECAP: Nicola Sturgeon says 'regrettably' Glasgow will remain in level 3 covid restrictions | East Renfrewshire rules will not tighten | Moray situation 'positive' and lockdown will ease | travel restrictions imposed for travel to parts to England

Live coverage of the Scottish Government’s latest coronavirus announcement.
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Coronavirus in Scotland RECAP: Updates on Friday, May 21

Key Events

  • Glasgow to remain in Level 3
  • Moray will move to Level 2
  • East Renfrewshire rules will not tighten
  • Sturgeon announces travel restrictions to England
  • Spain to lift restrictions for UK travellers

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care Humza Yousaf and National Clinical Director Jason Leitch will hold a media briefing on coronavirus at 12:15pm today. 

Government agency unlawfully kept care home death figures secret

The scale of deaths in individual care homes across Scotland was unlawfully kept secret by an arm of the Scottish Government for almost eight months in a decision that was criticised for a “lack of transparency”, it can be revealed.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS), which is responsible for the official recording of all deaths in Scotland and one of the few sources of accurate information on the scale of coronavirus’ impact on the care sector, breached freedom of information legislation by refusing to release the number of confirmed and suspected Covid-19 related deaths in each of Scotland’s care homes.

In a ruling, the Scottish Information Commissioner said the executive agency of the Scottish Government had engaged in arguments that were “speculative in nature” in its attempts to block the publication of the statistics.

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East Renfrewshire is now Scotland’s Covid hotspot

East Renfrewshire has overtaken Glasgow as Scotland’s Covid hotspot, according to the latest figures. as 432 new coronavirus cases were recorded across the country – the highest daily number since March.

The rate of cases in East Renfrewshire has risen to 118.3 per 100,000 in the seven days to May 17, though the area remains in Level 2 of the Scottish Government’s coronavirus restriction levels.

Where can I watch the briefing?

The briefing will be available to stream via the Scottish Government’s twitter feed.

Prof Bauld: Scotland’s cases heading ‘towards Level 4'

Professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, Linda Bauld, has warned that Scots “should probably start being more concerned now” about the rising number of cases in Glasgow and East Renfrewshire.

Professor Bauld said the numbers of people testing positive in the region were not just suitable to Level 3 restrictions, but even heading towards Level 4.

She told Times Radio: “East Renfrewshire and South Glasgow are inextricably interlinked.

“People just move between those areas for very essential reasons such as work and education.

“The difficult issue is to close down businesses that have only been open for a week. That is a tricky policy call.”

Spain to lift restrictions for UK travellers

The Spanish Government has announced that it will officially lift restrictions for UK travellers from Monday.

The country says the UK and Japan will be on a list of countries whose residents are not affected by restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU.

They will not need a PCR test.

What countries are on Scotland’s Amber List?

Restrictions on overseas travel started to ease on Monday for the whole of Scotland with the exception of Moray and Glasgow.

A ‘traffic light’ system has been introduced, with those travelling to the 12 countries on the Green List, including Portugal and Iceland, not requiring to quarantine on their return to Scotland.

But in recent days there has been conflicting advice on who can travel to Amber List countries and for what reason.

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Sturgeon: 'Please tune in if you can’

The First Minister has asked Scots to “tune in” to today’s Covid-19 briefing, where she will offer an assessment of the situation across Scotland.

Hospitality groups call for more notice ahead of latest review

Businesses have demanded more notice of changing restrictions ahead of the latest review today, as East Renfrewshire overtakes Glasgow as Scotland’s Covid hotspot.

"Many of our hospitality members were badly hit financially, with one restaurant owner telling us he had lost around £12,000 in staff and perishable food costs in one establishment alone,” said Glasgow Chamber of Commerce deputy chief executive Richard Muir.

He added: “This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

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