Bars, pubs and restaurants in Scotland will be prohibited from serving alcohol indoors for 16 days, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
Across Scotland, there’s been a total of 34,760 cases of COVID-19 – more than 1,000 of which were recorded overnight – with 2,533 deaths. The UK as a whole has seen 530,000 cases, with 42,445 deaths.
The new emergency ‘circuit-breaker’ measures, unveiled by Sturgeon today, October 7, come as the spread of the virus increases across the country, particularly in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran.
Indoor hospitality venues like pubs and bars will be closed between 6.00pm and 6.00am for 16 days starting Friday, October 9, with the exception of serving meals in hotels. They will be allowed to open between 6.00am and 6.00pm as long as no alcohol is served. It comes after the introduction of the 10.00pm curfew on hospitality venues.
While there’ll be no serving of alcohol outdoors in the central belt, it will be permitted in other areas of the country up to the 10.00pm curfew. However, there will be exceptions to these rules when it comes to ‘significant life events’ like wedding receptions and funerals, as long as they proceed under current rules.
In Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran, all licensed premises will be required to close, with the exception of takeaway. There’ll also be ‘no group classes in gyms; no adult contact sports, excepting professional sports; no outdoor live events. Snooker/pool halls, indoor bowling, casinos and bingo halls will be closed,’ in these areas. Those who can work from home will also be expected to do so.
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Indoor hospitality venues like pubs and bars will be closed between 6.00pm and 6.00am for 16 days starting Friday, October 9
