Scotland eases COVID-19 rules as Omicron wave subsides

FILE PHOTO: Workers walk towards Tower Bridge during the morning rush hour, amid a relaxation of lockdown restrictions during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in London, Britain, September 15, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON — Scotland on Tuesday announced it was easing coronavirus restrictions as case numbers, which hit record numbers over Christmas during the Omicron wave, continued to fall.

The move came as Wales also began lifting Covid restrictions and England said it would likely do the same next week.

Nightclubs will reopen and the requirement for table service in premises serving alcohol will no longer apply from Monday, said Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Guidance asking people to stick to a three household limit on indoor gatherings will also be lifted, she added. Limits on attendances at outdoor of public events were lifted on Monday.

But infection levels remained high, warned Sturgeon.

“So to minimize the risk of getting the virus, it would be sensible for all of us to remain cautious in our social interactions at this stage,” she added.

There will be no extension of the coronavirus vaccine passport scheme but people will still be asked to work from home whenever possible.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday that he was “cautiously optimistic” that Covid restrictions in England could be “substantially reduced” from next week.

“We have already reached the peak of the case numbers of hospitalizations,” Javid told MPs.

The Welsh government has said a decline in Covid cases in intensive care means it will scale down its alert level from two to zero in coming weeks.

The number of people who can attend an outdoor event in Wales rose from 50 to 500 at the weekend.

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