What time is Nicola Sturgeon's roadmap announcement today and will the lockdown release date be delayed?
Nicola Sturgeon will give an update on the Scottish roadmap today, although it is expected that the release date of June 28 will be delayed due to a rise in cases. With this in mind, the national clinical director has said that the country may not move into Level 0, the lowest level of lockdown restrictions, until September. Jason Leitch has warned that the Indian or Delta variant has pushed the roadmap back by about"8 to 10 weeks", as news comes that one dose of the vaccine only provides 30 per cent of protection against the new variant, compared to 80 per cent against previous variants. He said the "horrid" discovery means Scotland will have to wait until all vulnerable groups have received two doses before lifting more restrictions, and some measures will be in place beyond August. Much of the north and south of Scotland moved into Level 1 restrictions on June 5, in line with the timetabled easing of restrictions. However, it was announced that more than half of the Scottish population will be in lockdown "limbo" from from June 7. 14 councils in the central belt of the country is currently in Level 2, as they do not have a low enough Covid rate to meet her threshold for reducing restrictions. These include Glasgow, Edinburgh and Midlothian, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, the three Ayrshire areas, North and South Lanarkshire and Clackmannanshire and Stirling. Ms Sturgeon told MSPs in Holyrood that "it is important to stress that this is a pause, not a step backwards." "Level 2 is not lockdown. It does have an impact on opening hours of pubs and restaurants and the numbers that can attend certain events. "Taking a cautious approach now - while more people get fully vaccinated - gives us the best chance of staying on the right track overall."