Nicola Sturgeon briefing Recap: First Minister updates Scotland as coronavirus cases rise
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Nicola Sturgeon will be giving an update on coronavirus in Scotland on Friday afternoon at around 12.15.
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Nicola Sturgeon briefing RECAP: Follow here for all updates
Asked where the “tipping point” is for when restrictions will be re-implemented FM said: “It is not that binary, we monitor this on an ongoing basis.
“The change of how much we look at case numbers and numbers in hospitals, that has been changing because of vaccination.
“We don’t ignore case numbers completely, but we do look now more at the harm indicators; how many people are in hospital, how many people are being admitted to ICU.
“Thankfully these numbers are at a much lower level than they would have been if case numbers were so high [without vaccination]”
FM: “Delta is really infectious”
Professor Jason Leitch: “There are 167 more people in hospital than there were last Friday which would suggest that harm is increasing.
“But it’s not increasing in the way it did in wave one or two.”
JL: “It’s right that large events are going ahead.
“I’m never going to call something in the middle of a pandemic safe or unsafe but events can always be safer.
“If you’re going, or you’re the organisers, there are things that you can do to make them safer.”
FM: There will be greater risk when you are travelling to an event, such as by car, bus or tube, so it is important to take the basic measures seriously.
“Take a lateral flow test before you go, wear face coverings and be careful of en-route hygiene.”
FM asks JCVI to make their decision quickly on young people so they can get on with vaccinating 12-17 year-old’s if it is safe to do so.
FM: “I have concerns about all parts of Scotland"
FM: Some hospitals will have to take difficult decision but “I support health boards taking the decisions they think are necessary to treat people.”
Asked about nurses having to self-isolate if living with a positive case despite testing negative.
FM: “Judgements have to made made in order to limit transmission in hospitals.”
JL: “We are looking at it again but fundamentally we think the risk is higher for health and social care workers if they live with a positive case.
“Because of the job they do, not because of the life the lead.
“This is to protect patients and families in the health service”
FM: “When you have restrictions, even if you call them protections, they still harm people.
“Restrictions do their own harm and we have to balance that harm, they stop people interacting with family and friends.
“They harm people’s well-being because they increase peoples isolation, they harm the economy and threaten people’s jobs
“We can take a less restrictive approach right now because of the vaccination, but we can’t be complacent.”
FM: “If we keep seeing the virus run out of control all sorts of things may happen, but what we’ve got to do is operate and behave in a way that stops that and tries to limit transmission.
“The key message is if we all behave, in line with the advice people have been given, we have a chance of slowing the transmission.
“We think it is right, it’s not easy, i’ve got a niece and nephew in that school age group who have to wear face coverings.
“We don’t want that to be a requirement for longer than necessary but we think it is an essential mitigation.
“I promise young people we won’t do it for longer than we think is absolutely necessary.”
FM: “Living with an infectious virus is not the same as living without an infectious virus.
“Doing all these things, wearing face coverings, washing your hands, what we wouldn’t have to do in normal times, is what we will have to do now, it’s really important .”
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