‘We will seek to find a new normal’: First Minister sets out Scotland’s lockdown exit strategy

The First Minister briefed the Scottish public on how the country will begin to exit the current coronavirus lockdown.

The Scottish Government published a “first cut” paper on Thursday outlining the decisions it will take to contain the virus while trying to restore normality to everyday life.

With the publishing of the document – titled Coronavirus (COVID-19): Framework for decision making paper – Nicola Sturgeon said she is “seeking to start a grown up conversation with the public” about how lockdown restrictions will be eased in Scotland.

She said while it is clear coronavirus causes real harm, seen in the number of deaths and statistics, the current lockdown measures are doing damage to the economy, living standards, education, physical and mental health.

However, she said contrary to what people may think, lifting the lockdown is not a “flick of the switch moment”.

Instead, the First Minister said the challenge is to find a “better balance”.

She said: “We cannot and we must not take our eye off the need to suppress the virus and minimise the damage that it does.

“Continuing to suppress Covid-19 is the central objective that we’ve set out in this paper today.

“A return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future. We will be seeking to find a new normal – living alongside the virus in a form that keeps it under control.”

She added social distancing and limiting contact will be a fact of life for a long time to come – for the rest of this year and maybe even beyond.

The path ahead is not an easy one. It is paved with complexity and uncertainty… but together, we will be able to navigate it – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

Ms Sturgeon laid out some examples of what the country could expect when restrictions are eased:

• Some businesses may be given the go ahead to reopen if they can change how they work to allow social distancing.
• Some children may be able to return to school if classrooms can implement social distancing or allow children to come into school at different times.
• Big gatherings and events “will likely be off for some months to come”
• Older people would still require some form of shielding “for the foreseeable”.

She stressed these are not firm decisions but rather “illustrate the options” the government will be assessing.

Before any restrictions can be lifted, Ms Sturgeon said the Reproduction Rate – the “R number” (the number of people someone who has contracted the virus is able to infect) – needs to be as far below one as possible.

At the time when lockdown was instated, the R number was above three.

The current R number estimate lies at somewhere between 0.6 and one, but it is probably still higher in settings such as care homes, Ms Sturgeon said.

She added even when the desired R number is reached, the virus will not have gone away and the “real risk” is that “Covid-19 runs rampant again”.

Ms Sturgeon said that she cannot rule out having to reapply these restrictions if there is evidence the virus is running out of control.

Alluding to the UK Government’s initial ‘herd immunity’ strategy, Ms Sturgeon said the assumption that it is safe to allow some parts of the population to contract the virus is not part of the approach the Scottish Government are taking.

The next phase Scotland will enter before lockdown restrictions can be lifted is “extensive testing, contact tracing and isolation of symptomatic people”, and preparations to make this next stage possible are already underway.

Ms Sturgeon will also hold a discussion with the UK Government on stronger surveillance measures for people entering the country.

Ms Sturgeon said the government’s thinking will be shared with the public on an “ongoing basis”. She encouraged the public to read the paper and to let the Scottish Government know their views, which she said are “important” and “helpful”.