Edinburgh Lockdown 3 years on: 13 eerie photos of Edinburgh’s empty streets during first lockdown in 2020

Three years ago today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a televised address to the people of Scotland to announce the introduction of national lockdown measures as Covid-19 spread across the country.

This included the “stay at home” order, including once-a-day exercise and employees working from home where they can.

Ms Sturgeon stated: “Let me blunt. The stringent restrictions on our normal day to day lives that I’m about to set out are difficult and they are unprecedented.

“They amount effectively to what has been described as a lockdown.”

The tight measures came into force the next day.

Today marks the third anniversary of that first lockdown annoucement, and we look back through the archives to what Edinburgh looked like during those dark days, often under sunny skies, when the city looked liked a ghost town.

Take a look through our photo gallery for a reminder of what life was like in Scotland’s capital city.

Related topics: