Covid Scotland and Wales: Fury as Sturgeon and Drakeford introduce restrictions at football matches
Now Sturgeon loses the terraces: Anger boils over at football matches in Scotland over tougher Covid rules that will effectively ban fans from games – amid backlash as SNP shuts down nightclubs and Wales brings back rule-of-six
Footage showed a crowd of young supporters chanted ‘Sturgeon, get tae f***’ Others held banner saying ‘open your homes for COP26, closed doors for fans’Scottish and Welsh leaders accused of jumping the gun on new Omicron curbs
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Anger boiled over at Scottish football matches last night after Nicola Sturgeon introduced tough new Covid rules that will effectively ban fans from games – while Mark Drakeford also faced a backlash after opting for even tougher restrictions in Wales.
A crowd of young supporters at Hibernian v Aberdeen chanted ‘Sturgeon, get tae f***’ while others held a banner saying ‘open your homes for COP26, closed doors for fans, f*** SNP’ – a reference to the climate change conference which some have blamed for fuelling cases.
Ms Sturgeon and Mr Drakeford have been accused of jumping the gun on new Omicron curbs after several studies released today suggested it is less likely to lead to serious illness than previous variants.
Their approach contrasts with that taken in England, where Health Secretary Sajid Javid this morning hailed the ‘reassuring’ new data that suggested Omicron presented a 40% lower risk of overnight hospital admissions than other variants and confirmed no new restrictions would be announced in England until at least next week.
Ms Sturgeon will limit outdoor events to 500 people from December 27 – effectively ruling out large outdoor Hogmanay celebrations – while indoor ones will be capped at 100 standing or 200 seated. Pubs will be table service only with one metre between groups, and nightclubs shut. The rules will last at least three weeks.
A crowd of young supporters chanted ‘Sturgeon, get tae f***’ at a match in Scotland
Others held a banner saying ‘open your homes for COP26 , closed doors for fans, f*** SNP’
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said Ms Sturgeon’s new restrictions ‘will be another hammer blow for employers and Scotland’s economy’.
Dr Cameron added: ‘Businesses across Scotland, who have been doing everything they can to keep their employees and customers safe, will be bitterly disappointed by these further restrictions.
‘Some businesses and sectors will view this update as the equivalent of receiving a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking, further compounding the downturn in trade they have experienced in the crucial run-up to the festive period.’
Meanwhile, Mr Drakeford will bring back the ‘rule of six’, two-metre social distancing rules in public places and table service only at pubs. Anyone caught working in the office ‘without a reasonable excuse’ could be fined £60.
David Chapman, executive director of the UKHospitality Cymru organisation, said the new curbs will ‘virtually close Wales’ events industry and take all other hospitality businesses much further into sub-viable trading’.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Night Time Industries Association described the new restrictions as a ‘devastating blow’.
Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have been accused of jumping the gun on new Omicron curbs after several studies released today suggested it is less likely to lead to serious illness
The approach taken by the devolved nations was today called into question as a raft of new studies suggested Omicron is less likely to lead to serious illness than early variants.
A study by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggested overall risk of hospitalisation is slashed by 50 per cent if patients have Omicron rather than another variant.
Early evidence suggests fewer infected people are needing hospital treatment – potentially around a two-thirds reduction.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said the latest Omicron findings show there is ‘certainly no need for any further restrictions’.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the emerging findings on severity were ‘encouraging’ after No10 confirmed that there will be no more announcements on toughening rules until next week
Researchers at Imperial College London found Omicron is 10 per cent less likely to cause hospitalisation in someone who has never been vaccinated or previously infected with Covid than with Delta. Hospitalisation is up to 20 per cent less likely in the general population — including those who have been infected or vaccinated — and 45 per cent less likely for at least a night
This graph from the Scottish paper show the age distribution of cases of Omicron (left, as ‘S Negative’) compared to Delta (right, as ‘S Positive’). It shows that children were most likely to test positive for Delta in Scotland whereas young adults are driving the country’s Omicron wave
The above graphs show the rate of Omicron — S gene negative — and Delta — S gene positive — cases by vaccination status. This was unvaccinated (uv), one dose ofthe vaccine up to three weeks ago (v1_0:3), one dose more than four weeks ago (v1_4+), two doses of the vaccine up to a week ago (v2_0:1), two doses of the vaccine two to nine weeks ago (v2_2:9), two doses of the vaccine 10 to 14 weeks ago (v2_10:14), two doses ofthe vaccine 15 to 19 weeks ago (v2_15:19), two doses of the vaccine 20 to 24 weeks ago (v2_20:24) and two doses of the vaccine more than 25 weeks ago (v2_25+). The graph also includes three doses of the vaccine less than a week ago (v3_0), three doses with the third administered up to a week ago (v3_1) and three doses more than two weeks ago (v3_2+)
Conservative former leader Iain Duncan Smith said the lower severity has ‘a huge bearing on what is happening’.
‘It is becoming absolutely clear that those of us who said don’t bring in new restrictions will be proved right now,’ he told MailOnline.
‘It is time for the scientists to stop Project Fear.’
Sir Iain said that Mr Johnson should come out and reassure people that they can carry on relatively normally.
‘The public needs to feel OK. Yes they need to be careful. Yes in crowded circumstances wearing facemasks, yes use hand sanitiser… but that is not the same as saying stay away, don’t visit your family – all that stuff.
‘The answer is, we just get on with it.’
Dr Jim McMenamin, the national Covid incident director for Public Health Scotland, labeled the findings a ‘qualified good news story’, but said that it was ‘important we don’t get ahead of ourselves’.
He said: ‘The potentially serious impact of Omicron on a population cannot be underestimated.
‘And a smaller proportion of a much greater number of cases that might ultimately require treatment can still mean a substantial number of people who may experience severe Covid infections that could lead to potential hospitalisation.’
