The city’s council leaders have told of their frustration as the north-east remains in level two – as figures reveal Glasgow’s average Covid-19 positive rate is almost nine times more.
It was hoped Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire might be dropped to level one in this week’s review of the Scottish Government’s national framework for coronavirus.
The Scotland-wide seven-day positive rate per 100k population is 152.4 cases.
Aberdeen has an average rate per 100k population of 35.9, while Aberdeenshire’s is 31.4, but Glasgow city, which is one tier away at level three, is recorded as 313.8.
There had been calls from politicians and business leaders for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to be reduced to level one at the review given the low numbers of cases compared to other parts of the country, such as Glasgow.
The First Minister said the north-east has shown some “stability” in cases, but not enough to merit lowering it to tier one.
She said: “While there are some signs of stability, and even improvement in most of them [tier two areas], that is not yet sufficient evidence of a sustained decline in the number of cases.
“For these reasons, we consider it sensible for these areas to remain in level two for now, but we do remain hopeful that some or all of them will be able to move to level one soon.”
However, council leaders have again hit out, saying there is a lack of clarity around the framework.
Aberdeen City Council co-leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: “We said last week we should have been placed in tier one. We had a call with cabinet secretary Aileen Campbell who said they were erring on the side of caution. We’re disappointed the government has taken the decision not to move us.
“They have developed a framework with what level you need to be at, but it’s not being applied.
“They talk about openness and transparency but that’s not really what we’re seeing in that process.
“There was some movement from tier two into tier three, but there are some places that have been kept as tier three when they should be tier four under the framework.
“For places like Aberdeen, it means people could live their lives a bit more, it would help people’s jobs, social isolation and mental health issues.
“Aberdeen had a local lockdown, we understand you have to take decisive action, but we were the first and we haven’t seen the same rigorous action by the government in other places, such as Glasgow, where they haven’t locked them down enough.
“That’s the reason we’re frustrated. People need to ask questions. There seems to be one rule for some places, and a different rule for others.”
Ms Laing’s council co-leader Councillor Douglas Lumsden added: “It’s a right pain in the neck.
“All the medical data shows we should be in level one. It’s really disappointing that this data is being ignored.
“Redundancies have gone up a significant amount, there’s considerably more Universal Credit claimants, but that doesn’t seem to have made much difference to the decisions being made.
“The decision on levels based on cases just shows the Central Belt bias. Back in August we were essentially put under level four, and cases were nowhere near where they are in Glasgow right now.
“It’s not just hospitality that would benefit from being put into level one, businesses such as soft play and football stadiums would as well, there’s a big difference between tier one and tier two.
“The city centre needs people back in it, and it would make a big difference being put in tier one.”
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He went on to say: “Aberdeen (and Shire) have same indicators as Highland but we are tier 2 and they are tier 1. The system was meant to provide clarity, instead, we seem to have a lottery.”
North-east MSP Liam Kerr also said that cases in the area were closer to those in level one than those of level three.
He said: “Looking at the data, it is clear that the north east is closer to Moray’s state than Glasgow’s.
“I hope that the evidence continues to mount in support of easing restrictions, and that the move to tier one happens soon.
“In the meantime, I would ask residents to continue their good work.
“And I urge the SNP to outline how it will support jobs and sustain livelihoods here in the north-east, where we must remember we had an extra lockdown.
“The announcement of a viable vaccine will have to be a small crumb of comfort and I will continue to make the case for the north-east as the situation develops.”
Meanwhile, figures have shown that cases in many areas over the past week from (November 1-7) have remained low in the north-east with both Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire seeing 82 cases.
However, there are several areas in the north-east which are showing slightly higher numbers – including Cummings Park which has 4,733 and had 1-4 cases for its seven-day average, Culter which recorded six cases and has a population of 4,733 and West End North where there are 3,647 people, had five cases.
Meanwhile Bucksburn South, which has a population of 4,458 also fell into the 1-4 cases category.
Councillor Ciaran McRae, who represents Northfield and Mastrick North, said: “I fully urge residents across Aberdeen to adhere to the Scottish Government guidance along with wearing face coverings in public places.”
Councillor Avril Mackenzie, who represents Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone, said: “The numbers are surprising and I would urge residents to follow Scottish Government guidance by wearing face coverings in retail settings and keeping their distance.”
In Aberdeenshire Fraserburgh Central Academy, which has 2,590 residents, Auchnagatt with 3,139 people and Peterhead Bay which has a population of 2,440 all had between 1-4 cases for the seven-day average. However, Rosehearty and Strathbeg which has a population of 6,269 saw nine cases.
Councillor Brian Topping, who covers Fraserburgh and District, said: “The figures here are worrying. The majority of people in Fraserburgh have largely followed the rules but there are still some people who have ignored the guidance.
“A pensioner stopped me the other day and said he felt apprehensive about going into shops because there are still people not wearing face coverings.
“I would urge people to stick to the rules as it is for everyone’s benefit.”
Councillor Jim Ingram, who represents Central Buchan, added: “The figures in Auchnagatt are quite surprising given that the population is low and it is a small place.
“The Test and Protect programme is working fairly well in this area, but it’s not perfect, so I would ask that people continue to follow the guidance.”
Business leaders have also expressed their disappointment at the news it will be at least another week before the north-east is considered to be moved down a level.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “This decision was expected off the back of indications earlier this week and whilst disappointed, we take some heart that there is hope for a move to Level 1 for Aberdeen soon and further easing of restrictions.
“While this isn’t the case just yet, we are hopeful it will be in coming weeks as Aberdeen continues to show the lowest infection rates of any urban area in the country. As we now enter the busy Christmas period, we would urge the public to get behind the city centre safely and show your support to our hospitality and retail sectors at a time when they most need it.”
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce said: “The decision to hold level 2 restrictions in place across the north-east will be met with real frustration and disappointment by businesses in the region. Firms accept that suppressing the virus must be a priority, but the purpose of the Strategic Framework was to create clarity around the application of restrictions, not to cause more confusion.
“With every metric in both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire currently standing at ‘low’ or ‘very low’, our businesses are justified in asking why there has been no change to our status. We called this a blueprint to go backwards when it was announced and nothing we are seeing makes us change that view. The decision-making clearly remains subjective and does not fully take into account the ongoing impact on the health of our economy.
“The unemployment statistics released today act as just one further reminder of the economic and social challenges being stored up by the approach we are seeing, with redundancies at a record high. Our young people are being particularly badly affected.
“The only sustainable way to protect jobs and livelihoods is to move towards a managed and safe re-opening of the economy. We continue to call on the Scottish Government to clearly set out what the routemap is towards easing these restrictions in line with the risk and an indicative date for moving all parts of our region towards level one or zero where we can start to see some light at the end of a long and dark tunnel for live events, venues and easing of restrictions on our hard-hit hospitality sector.”
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