Police chief reveals some Edinburgh residents still breaching coronavirus lockdown rules

Edinburgh’s police chief has revealed that some city residents continued to breach the Government’s lockdown rules over the warm weekend.

Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh, said officers identified some people who were out and about, or gathering in groups, without a reasonable excuse and needed to encourage compliance or take enforcement as a last resort.

He said that the good weather, particularly on Sunday, may have prompted people to leave their homes, and reiterated the importance of adhering to social distancing restrictions ahead of the coming Easter weekend.

Edinburgh's police chief revealed that some residents are still breaching the coronavirus lockdown rules. Pic: Edinburgh Police Division Facebook/ JPI Media

No particular parts of the city caused any major issues, but the main gravitation points have been in the Pentlands at Harlaw and Bonaly, Gypsy Brae and Inverleith.

‘Important that people comply’

Chief Sup Int Scott said: "The overwhelming majority of the public have been complying with the restrictions.

"We recognise these measures place a number of challenging demands on the public, but it's really important that people comply in order to save lives and protect the NHS."In the course of our daily patrols we have identified some people who are out and about, or gathering in groups, without a reasonable excuse and we have taken the appropriate action on these occasions, by engaging with them, explaining the legislation, encouraging compliance, and if necessary taking enforcement action as a last resort. "The fair weather we experienced over the weekend may have prompted people to leave their homes, and we will closely monitor the situation over the next few weeks to make sure that people are not placing themselves or others at risk.

"I want to thank everyone supporting the effort to tackle the spread of Covid-19, whether in their role as a key worker, or by simply staying at home."As we approach the Easter weekend, I would again reiterate the importance of complying with these instructions so that together we can limit the impact on the NHS and save lives."

It comes despite daily warnings from the UK and Scottish governments on the need to maintain social distancing (2 metres) and avoid leaving home, unless for essential reasons such as getting food or medicine, helping a vulnerable person, or exercising once daily close to home.

Last week, ahead of the predicted warm weekend, Edinburgh City Council leader Adam McVey also urged locals to exercise safely while outdoors in line with government guidelines.

Temperatures reached the high teens in Edinburgh on Sunday, with the mercury hitting 19.6c at Gogarbank on Sunday according to a reading on the Met Office website.

The council also highlighted problems with members of the public removing signs and hazard tape around equipment in city parks used to stop the spread of coronavirus. It comes after pictures emerged today of a vandalised path sign in The Meadows whereby letters had been removed to make it read ‘Corona Walk’ instead of Coronation Walk.