Lockdown easing paused for millions as rules are relaxed in Glasgow - BBC News
Restrictions will be relaxed in Glasgow from Saturday - but 13 other areas will remain under current rules.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'It is safer to hold these areas in Level 2'

The easing of lockdown restrictions has been paused for millions of people in Scotland - but rules are to be relaxed in Glasgow from Saturday.

Most of the country had been due to drop down to level one in the five-tier system from next week.

But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 13 council areas would stay in level two due to rising case rates.

They will be joined by Glasgow, which had been the only part of the country still in level three.

Many areas in the north and south of the country will still move to level one as planned, with island communities including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles in level zero.

The first minister said a "slight slowing down" of the easing of restrictions was needed while vaccination continues - but described it as "a pause, not a step backwards".

Glasgow will enter level two on Saturday, allowing six people from three households to meet up indoors for the first time in many months.

Pubs and restaurants will be able to sell alcohol indoors, and the travel ban between Glasgow and other parts of the country will also be lifted.

Thirteen council areas, with a combined population of more than 2.3 million people, will stay in level two while local case numbers are high and vaccines are still being rolled out.

These areas - which all have case rates above 50 per 100,000 people - are: Edinburgh; Dundee; Stirling; Midlothian; East Dunbartonshire; Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire; Clackmannanshire; North and South Lanarkshire; and North, South and East Ayrshire.

With the addition of Glasgow, it means just under three million people will be subject to level two restrictions.

Ms Sturgeon said she knew it would be "very disappointing" for the people in these areas, but said: "Taking a cautious approach now - while more people get fully vaccinated - gives us the best chance of staying on the right track overall."

The rest of mainland Scotland will be moving to level one on 5 June, which means eight people from three households can meet indoors and 12 people from 12 households can meet outdoors.

Soft play centres and funfairs are allowed to reopen and 100 people are allowed to attend weddings or funerals.

Most of Scotland's island communities, including Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles, will move from level one to level zero.

This will allow people to meet up in greater numbers, although Ms Sturgeon said people from the mainland should take a Covid-19 test before travelling there.

The first minister told MSPs that she was "optimistic about our chances of much more normality over the summer and beyond" as the vaccine programme continues, but said a careful approach was still needed due to new variants of the virus.

She said: "I appreciate that today's decisions will feel like a mixed bag. That reflects the fact we are now in a transition phase.

"The vaccines make the outlook positive, but the new variant means the road ahead is still potentially bumpy - so caution is necessary."

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said "a more local approach" was needed, arguing for "targeted interventions to tackle local outbreaks instead of sweeping measures".

He said: "Half of the country will move forward while the rest will be stuck in limbo with no clear idea when the restrictions will ease."

It's no surprise that many parts of Scotland are being held in level two. There have been warnings from scientists across the UK that caution is required as case numbers go up, and it would be out of character for Nicola Sturgeon not to tread carefully.

Some experts believe what we are seeing in Scotland is the start of a third wave. The question is, how big will it be?

It looks like vaccines are holding up against the new, more transmissible, Indian variant.

The proportion of people who test positive and go on to need hospital treatment appears to be far less than it was in the autumn of last year. Scientists say it's a very good sign that the vaccine is breaking the link between cases and hospitalisations, but that efforts should be stepped up to maximise protection by getting people to come forward for a first or second jag.

There is also a nervousness that too big an increase in Covid patients in hospital could stall any progress the NHS is making on catching up on the backlog of routine work.

That is why the decision to slow down the easing of restrictions.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the news would be welcome in Glasgow, but a "bitter blow" to people in parts of Scotland which will now not be moving down a level.

He said: "It is paramount that we now design proper protocols for what happen in current and future hotspot areas learning from the Glasgow experience."

Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater called for "urgent consideration" to maintaining a ban on evictions as long as restrictions are in place - something Ms Sturgeon said she would keep under review.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said he was "deeply concerned about the lack of services for adults with special needs".

Ms Sturgeon said more key services could now get back to normal, and that she was "trying to manage these issues as carefully and sensitively as we can".