Pub pints and restaurant meals back on menu as lockdown restrictions relaxed
People will be able to enjoy a drink in a pub, have meals inside a restaurant and get their hair cut for the first time in months as lockdown restrictions continue to ease in Scotland.
Barbers and hair salons can reopen from Wednesday with enhanced hygiene measures in place.
Indoor pubs and restaurants are also allowed to open their doors again, following guidance and mitigation measures, as rules are relaxed in phase three of the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown.
Further relaxations include museums, galleries, monuments, cinemas and libraries being permitted to open again with precautions in place – for example, tickets being secured in advance.
Scotland’s tourism sector can also reopen, including all holiday accommodation, while the childcare sector can fully reopen.
Places of worship can open their doors for communal prayer and contemplation, with physical distancing and numbers limited to 50.
Restrictions on attendance at weddings and funerals will be eased but numbers remain limited and physical distancing is required.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to adhere to guidelines in place such as providing contact details to assist with tracing where necessary to help prevent a resurgence of the virus.
She told the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing: “The changes that come into force [on Wednesday] are the highest risk changes so far since we started to come out of lockdown because many of them involve indoor activity and we know the the risk of the virus spreading indoors, in a pub for example, is significantly higher than outdoors.”
She added: “I would make a plea to all customers to accept that, if you want to go somewhere like a hairdresser or a place of worship or to a popular restaurant, you will be asked to provide contact details.
“You should co-operate with anyone who is asking you to do that.
“In fact, if you’re not prepared to provide your contact details, my message to you is pretty blunt – don’t go to these places, because you could be putting others at greater risk.
She continued: “Our most immediate risk is not a second wave of Covid, it is a resurgence of the first wave.”
People wanting beauty treatments will have to wait a little while longer as personal retail services such as beauticians and tailors cannot reopen until July 22, with enhanced hygiene measures.
On that date, colleges and universities can make a phased return to on campus learning as part of a blended model with remote teaching
No date has yet been given for the return of live events in outdoor and indoor venues, reopening of theatres, bingo halls, nightclubs, casinos and other entertainment venues and reopening of non-essential offices.
There is also no confirmed date for the restarting of amateur contact sports outdoors for adults, reopening of indoor gyms and resumption of driving lessons and test.
Changes in these sectors are currently not expected to take place before July 31.
Published: by Radio NewsHub