Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will remain in tier two of coronavirus restrictions, the first minister has confirmed.
Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon addressed the Scottish Parliament for her weekly review of regional levels.
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For a second week running, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire still remain in tier 2, despite recommendations to tighten restrictions from the national incident management team.
The cabinet and government advisers met this morning to discuss potential changes to the levels.
Tier 3 would completely halt the sale of alcohol in hospitality venues across the north-east, forcing venues to close at 6pm also.
It would also introduce travel bans, meaning people could not travel between the city and Aberdeenshire, except for a government-endorsed exception, such as for work or school.
Threat of move to level 3 still looms
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Holyrood: “I said in last week’s statement we were looking closely at Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, following an increase in cases in both areas.
“In the last week, cases have fallen; Aberdeen has gone from 89 new cases per 100,000 people to 74.
“By the same measure, Aberdeenshire’s have reduced from 95 to 80 and cases positivity in both areas has also fallen and is at or slightly over 4%.
“For that reason, at this stage, we intend that both areas will remain at level 2 but it worth stressing though that cases haven’t fallen in either area by as much as we would want to see.
“There is still evidence levels of infection are due to transmission in the community rather than solely being due to outbreaks in work places and care homes.
“We are therefore still continuing to monitor the situation in both very carefully and cannot rule out a move to level 3 for one or both areas in the weeks ahead.
“My message in both areas, as indeed it is for all parts of the country, is the only way to stay at current levels and then possibly to move down further is to suppress the virus as effectively as possible.
“Both local authorities have assured us they will continue work with local public health teams to do that.
“The Scottish Government, of course, will do all we can to help and it’s also vital local businesses and communities continue to play a full part in those efforts.”
