Lockdown extended for at least another month as cases surge in Scotland

The current lockdown across Scotland will be extended until at least February, Nicola Sturgeon has announced today.

Scotland’s First Minister warned the pressure on the NHS is “real and sever” as hospitals are so overwhelmed.

Earlier today Dr Alison Pittard told the Standard, “Many hospitals and intensive care units around the country, including in London, are already overwhelmed, working beyond normal baseline numbers and diluting staffing ratios in order to care for the patients who would benefit from intensive care.”

This comes after the NHS Chief Executive, sir Simon Stevens warned that patients are being admitted every 30 seconds across hospitals in England.

MSPs were told in Holyrood that the new measures will be reviewed on 2 February, but on a lighter not said the restrictions are starting to “have an impact.”

Sturgeon told MSPs, “We believe that the lockdown restrictions and the sacrifices everyone continues to make, are beginning to have an impact.

“Case numbers, which had been rising rapidly appear to have stabilised and even declined. In the week to January 14, there was an average of around 1,900 confirmed new cases per day. This is an 18% reduction on the previous week.

“Test positivity has also declined slightly, as has the number of cases per 100,000 of the population.”

The government will need to see “these trends continue” to ensure that the pandemic is on a downward trajectory before any easing of restrictions can happen.