well Welcome to Heil Sturgeon and our new mad lockdown regulations announced yesterday but start at 6pm tomorrow
Well done Wee Jimmy Krankie for killing of the hospitality trade in the Central belt, just as many were starting to get back on their feet and have done a lot to make their restaurants a safe place to visit
I feel so sad for them and its cruel, and many businesses wont recover . this is a disease we are going to have to live with, we cant shut up shop forever -
and id like to slap every teenager i have seen on a train in past 2 weekends, not wearing a mask and not giving a stuff either and all the students congregating in the West end and not caring a jot!
With case numbers on the rise again here we recap the rules for testing, travel and self-isolation.
www.bbc.co.uk
The Scottish government has
toughened coronavirus restrictions further in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
New rules have been introduced for the hospitality sector, with the tightest restrictions set to affect 3.4 million people living in the central belt.
So what are the new measures - and where do they apply?
What are the rules for pubs and restaurants?
Image copyright Reuters
All pubs and restaurants in the central belt will have to close, both indoors and outdoors, from 18:00 on Friday.
The stricter restrictions will apply in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley health board areas.
Licensed premises will have to close until 25 October, although they can still serve takeaways.
Cafes which do not serve alcohol can stay open until 18:00.
Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes in the rest of Scotland will not be allowed to serve alcohol indoors. They can only open between 06:00 and 18:00 for food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Licensed premises away from the central belt can continue to serve alcohol outdoors until the 22:00 curfew which was introduced last month.
Hotels across Scotland can serve evening meals to residents but without alcohol.
Alcohol can still be served at weddings and funerals, which are limited to a maximum of 20 people and can only take place in regulated premises.
The existing rules state that a maximum of six people from two households can meet together in hospitality venues, either indoors or outdoors.
Customers have to provide their contact details in case contact tracers need to reach them, and must wear face coverings while moving around and when not eating or drinking.
It is mandatory for staff to wear face coverings, and there can only be table service.
What else is changing in the central belt?
Snooker and pool halls, indoor bowling alleys, casinos and bingo halls in the five health board areas will have to close for two weeks from 10 October, and outdoor live events will be banned.
Contact sports and training for those aged 18 and over will be suspended for the same period, although professional sports can continue.
Gyms can remain open for individual exercise but indoor group exercise activities will not be allowed - with an exemption for under-18s.
People are being asked to avoid public transport unless it is absolutely necessary, such as for travelling to school or work.
And they are also being advised not to travel outside their own health board area if they do not need to.
What else is changing?
From this weekend onwards, shops are being asked to reintroduce two metre physical distancing rules and reintroduce some measures which had been taken earlier in the pandemic, such as one-way systems in supermarkets.
The use of face coverings will become mandatory in indoor communal settings, such as staff canteens and corridors in workplaces.
Face coverings are already compulsory in shops and on buses, trains, trams, planes and taxis.
People are also being advised not to share a vehicle with another household. Where you have no other option,
the advice is to keep windows open, wear a face covering and sit as far apart as possible.
The Scottish government said it was not imposing mandatory travel restrictions at this stage, and was not insisting that people cancel their half term breaks.
However, people in other parts of the country are being asked not to visit the parts of the central belt covered by the tighter restrictions.
The Scottish government also advises against non-essential foreign travel.
Can I visit my friends and family at home?
People have been banned from visiting other households indoors since 25 September, when a restriction which already covered 1.75 million people in the west of Scotland was extended to the whole country.
There are exemptions for those who have formed extended households, to support informal childcare arrangements (such as grandparents coming round to care for grandchildren) and for couples who don't live together.
There is also an exception allowing tradespeople to enter your home to carry out work.
Children under the age of 12 are
exempt from the limits on the number of people who can gather outdoors, and on the number of households.
Those aged between 12 and 17 are allowed to meet outside in groups of up to six from six different households, but should observe physical distancing.
Police have powers to
break up groups of more than 15 people meeting in houses and to stop parties in student accommodation.
Over the summer it had been possible for eight people from three different households to meet indoors, and for up to 15 people from five different households to meet outdoors.
However, the limit was reduced to a maximum of six people from two households - either indoors or outdoors - from 14 September.
This rule still applies outdoors (including in private gardens) and in hospitality venues.
If one more local person asks one of our politicians why the cases in NI are rising so rapidly I swear I'm going to lose it @Alexis. Likewise if I hear 'oh we can't enforce this...'. GROW A PAIR.
