17 November 2020
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that 11 council areas in the country are moving into level four of the coronavirus tier system.
In further efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19, it means millions of Scots will be living with the strictest restrictions.
The council areas that will move to level four for three weeks from Friday, November 20, are: the City of Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Lothian.
This means:
- In Level 4 essential retailers can remain open: The regulations include the following amongst that definition: food retailers, off licences, homeware, building supplies, and hardware stores, pharmacies, newsagents, petrol stations, bicycle shops, post offices, pet shops, agricultural supply shops, storage and distribution facilities, and garden centres.
- In Level 4 all retailers – even non-essential ones whose shops are forced to close – can continue to receive/dispatch deliveries at their warehouses and make deliveries or provide collection services or orders received online, by mail order, telephone, or by post.
Guidance states that garden centres and homeware stores -including those selling cookware - may remain open. Read the full regulations here
The First Minister said that there are “grounds for continued and significant concern” in these areas.
Additional Guidance and Resources
- Scottish Government publish guidance for retailers
- New tier system for Scotland
- Tighter restrictions to be introduced in Scotland
- Bira angry over Welsh Government U-turn on ‘essential’ stores
- Wales lockdown: Which businesses can stay open? (updated 22/10/2020)
- Wales to impose two-week circuit breaker lockdown
- Forced mass closure of shops for circuit breaker would be devastating, says Bira
- Is a national circuit breaker the answer?