First Minister urges folk to stay home over weekend

Nicola Sturgeon says “it is vital” that the country remains committed to the coronavirus lockdown over the weekend.

Thirty-three people who tested positive for the virus have now died while positive cases top more than 1,000 people.

Despite what official figures say, Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood says as many as 65,000 people may have COVID-19.

Ms Sturgeon, yesterday, said: “We are about to go into the first weekend since lockdown was announced, and I know that many of you watching will be struggling with being cooped up in the house as much as you are right now and being unable to do all the normal things that you would normally be looking forward to doing at the weekend.

“But it is vital that all of us stick with this.

“The most important thing all of us can do for the NHS is to follow the advice and stay at home wherever possible, and to make sure we can have the biggest impact on slowing down this virus, you should only go outside for a good reason — such as buying food or essential supplies; travelling to essential work; exercising once a day; or providing care or assistance to others.

“And when you do go outside, there shouldn’t be more than two of you in a group, unless all of you are from the same household.”

Police Scotland now have the power to enforce these strict regulations and Ms Sturgeon heaped praise on Scotland’s police force for the “exceptional job” they were carrying out.

She continued: “But I want to just remind people and underline why these rules are in place. It is because they are vital. Staying at home — more than any other measure — is the way in which we support and protect our NHS. And it is the way in which we can all contribute to saving lives.”

She added: “We are just entering our first weekend in lockdown, although I’m afraid it won’t be the last we go through with these measures.

“We must continue to reach out and support each other in every way we can, even as we keep our physical distance from each other.

“And above all else, we must continue to do the right thing for the sake of the NHS and those who are most vulnerable to becoming seriously ill and dying from this virus. And that means staying at home.

“By doing that, every single one of us in this collective national endeavour is helping to slow down the spread of this virus, protect the NHS, and save lives.

“And we are doing our bit, to get closer to the time when we get out the other end of this and can start to resume our normal lives.

“So my sincere thanks again to everyone for your co-operation, and I hope all of you have the best weekend that you can in the current circumstances.”