Nicola Sturgeon covid update RECAP: Hogmanay cancelled | Football crowd cap | Rishi Sunak hospitality funding
and live on Freeview channel 276
The First Minister will address MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on any potential new restrictions that could be implemented due to fears over the new Omicron variant.
She is due to make her statement at about 2.20pm.
You can follow live updates in our blog, right now.
Nicola Sturgeon Omicron update RECAP: First Minister to update Scotland on Covid rules as cases remain high
“I want to end with a heartfelt thank you to everyone - for everything you have done to help us through another tough year.
“I wish everyone the happiest and safest Christmas possible - and a much better, brighter new year.”
“This statement feels distressingly similar to the one I gave this time last year.
“Just a few days before Christmas, I am again urging people to stay at home as much as possible, to slow down a highly infectious new variant.
“But, although it may not feel like it, we are in a much stronger position than last year.
“We have had far fewer restrictions in place for much of this year than was the case last year.
“Christmas Day will be more normal.
“Most importantly, a rapidly increasing number of adults is now protected by 3 doses of vaccine.
“And all of us, as individuals, know what to do to protect ourselves and each other.
“So please, make sure you do all of these things.
“First, get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.
“Secondly, test regularly.
“Our advice of course is to stay at home as much as possible, but if you are meeting other people, test before you go, every time. This is really important for family gatherings on Christmas or Boxing Day.
“And finally, take all the other precautions which can help to make a difference.
“Work from home whenever possible,
“And stay at home as much as you can.
“If you do visit indoor public places, limit the number of households in your group to 3 maximum.
“Wear a face covering on public transport, in shops, and when moving about in hospitality. And make sure it fully covers your mouth and nose.”
“Last week, I said that our target was to have 80% of the eligible population vaccinated with boosters by the time the bells strike on Hogmanay.
“I can confirm that we are now confident we have the capacity to meet that target.”
“From this week, Test & Protect will flex its approach to ensure priority is given to higher risk settings, such as hospitals and care homes, where outbreaks can cause the most harm.”
“it remains our priority to re-open schools as normal after the holidays.
“Indeed, one reason for asking adults to make sacrifices for a further period after Christmas is to help minimise any impact on children’s education.”
“We will therefore continue to press the UK government to take the threat of Omicron more seriously and to act accordingly.
“But in the meantime we will - indeed we must - do what we can to protect health, lives and livelihoods here in Scotland.”
“As I said last week, my view is that the scale and urgency of the Omicron challenge requires financial support for business on a scale similar to that at the start of the pandemic.
“However, current UK funding arrangements mean, firstly, that only the Treasury has the borrowing powers to provide support on such a scale.
“And second, that financial support at scale is triggered only when the UK government takes decisions for England.
“All of this means that our ability to act to protect public health - and to compensate individuals and businesses affected - is curtailed. This cannot be right in a public health emergency.”
“I can, however, announce that the Scottish Government will allocate a further £100 million from elsewhere in our budget between now and the end of the financial year.
“This will involve difficult decisions but the impact of the current crisis on business is such that we consider it essential.
“Taken together, this adds up to a fund of £375 million that will help support business for the unavoidable impacts of our decisions over the next 3 weeks. This is significantly more - proportionately - than the Chancellor has announced for the UK as a a whole.”
“The Treasury has in the last hour or so just announced additional funding for business. Unfortunately, it would appear that this announcement generates no further funding for Scotland and that any consequentials are contained within previous announcements by the Treasury.”
“Last week, I announced £100m of support from within our existing resources for affected sectors. I can also confirm eligibility and guidance for the hospitality sector will be published on the Scottish Government website today.
“Since then, the Treasury has given approval for money that would have come to us later to be allocated now.
“As I have said, we had already budgeted for most of that money and so we cannot allocate it now without causing significant shortfalls anywhere, including in the health budget. Money cannot be spent twice.
“However, we estimate that the Treasury announcements do give us additional spending power now of £175 million. I can confirm today that we will allocate all of this to business support.”
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.