Pubs ordered to close as new lockdown imposed in Aberdeen

A strict lockdown has been imposed on Wednesday with pubs being ordered to close immediately, including outdoor hospitality sectors along with a travel ban in Aberdeen.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also warned that people will not be allowed in or out of Aberdeen. She also said that Scots are not allowed to travel any further than five miles from their home.

Residents have been told they are not allowed to enter other peoples homes.

The new lockdown will be backed by government regulations and they will be enforced if people flout the rules. The lockdown changes will be reviewed next Wednesday, Sturgeon confirmed.

This comes as there has been a fresh local outbreak of local clusters of coronavirus in Aberdeen, which has seen 54 new confirmed cases, Sturgeon said in her daily briefing. She confirmed that 191 people have been contacted as part of their test and trace programme.

Health officials have linked the new cases to the The Hawthorn Bar in the city centre, which has now closed for two weeks.

Scotland’s First Minister added that more than 20 other pubs, bars and restaurants are also part of the local clusters.

She warned that her government are “dealing with a significant outbreak in Aberdeen that may include some community transmission.”

She told her nation from Edingburgh, this immediate action was taken to “prevent further spread and to give the Test and Protect teams the best possible chance of successfully breaking these chains of transmission.”

She added that the new restrictions could last longer than seven days.

Sturgeon said that she realises the reimposed measures are “deeply unwelcome news, which is the “last thing” she wanted to do.

She added, “Our precautionary and careful judgement is that we need to take decisive action now, difficult as that undoubtedly is, in order to try to contain this outbreak and prevent further harm later on.

“This virus hasn’t gone away – if you doubted that, then today we have evidence of how true that is.

“It is still out there, and it is still highly infectious and it is still highly dangerous.

“The outbreak in Aberdeen is a sharp reminder of that. It shows what can happen if we let our guard drop.”