'Extended households' allowed as Scotland moves to next phase of lockdown

Scotland is moving into phase two of lifting lockdown - with good news for families but bad news for the hospitality sector.

Nicola Sturgeon said the infection rate had dropped low enough to allow the country ease some further guidelines, though it is being done in a phased way.

The timeline is as follows:

From today (June 18):

• Those who are shielding can go outside for exercise, as long as they are socially distancing from others.

From tomorrow (June 19):

• People living alone, or with solely with children under the age of 18, can form an "extended household" with another household. This involves being able to meet indoors and stay overnight, without distancing in place.
• People can now meet up to two other households - outdoors only, in groups of up to eight - while socially distancing. Going inside to use the bathroom is allowed if meeting in someone's garden, but indoor gatherings are still banned.
• Those who are shielding can take part in certain outdoor activities like golf, and can meet another household outdoors in a group of up to eight.

From Monday June 22:

• The use of face coverings will become mandatory on all public transport, except for those with specific medical conditions.
• Professional sports can resume but with certain measures in place.
• Dental surgeries can reopen, initially for urgent care.
• Places of worship can reopen for individual prayer.
• Construction can move into the next stages of its restart plan.

From Monday June 29:

• Non-essential retailers like small shops with outdoor entrances and exits will be able to reopen. Indoor spaces like shopping centres cannot reopen yet, unless for access to vital services like a pharmacy, but should prepare for reopening in phase three.
• Outdoor facilities like zoos, markets, playgrounds and garden attractions can reopen with social distancing measures in place.
• Some indoor workplaces can return with strict guidelines in place, though non-essential offices and call centres remain shut.

However, hospitality businesses with outdoor areas - which had initially been included in phase two - have been told they cannot yet reopen.

Ms Sturgeon says there is evidence these areas can be "hotspots" for virus transmission, and has asked for more advice, which she says she will review by July 2.

She also says there is no current change to the 2m distancing rule, although she has asked an advisory group to look into whether there are certain settings where a shorter distance would be appropriate.

And people are still being asked to stay within five miles of their house for recreation or exercise. Home working should also stay the norm for most.

Ms Sturgeon said at today's briefing: "I want to stress that we must still exercise care and caution. Our progress so far is because of lockdown - the virus has not gone anyway and we must remember that.

"The impact of this crisis on businesses large and small is colossal and we all want the economy to reopen as quickly as possible. But if, as I believe is the case, frustration leading to a premature easing of too many restrictions is our biggest risk, it is equally true to say the patience could reap our biggest rewards.

"The alternative, which would happen if we move too quickly, means the virus would continue to circulate and the measures that are then needed to stop it running out of control are more restrictive and have to be applied more widely for much longer.

"Though we are moving to phase two we are not going to do everything at once - we intend to take a staged approach to avoid bearing all of the risk at the same time.

"When deciding when to implement each measure we have tried to reach a reasonable measure of priority and we have tried to think about the various interdependencies

"There is no perfect route out of lockdown and all approaches have risk – what we are trying to do is manager and mitigate these as far as we can.

"In the context of beating this virus and saving lives there is no bigger priority for me and this government than getting children back to full time education, but it must be done safely.

"We will be working to ensure contingency plans for blended learning maximise the time children spend in school. We will also be working to create the conditions and put in place the protections that get children back to school on both a full-time and a normal basis as soon as possible."