Business leaders have pleaded with Nicola Sturgeon not to impose a “panic” lockdown on Scotland, as they warned that the country is at risk of being “strangled” by an “overabundance of caution”. The First Minister is considering a further tightening of coronavirus restrictions, and is likely to announce this week that she will impose new legal obligation on the public not to travel to or from council areas with high virus rates. The first review of a five-tier system for local lockdowns will take place on Tuesday, with areas such as Fife at risk of seeing harsher rules imposed and fears that Lanarkshire could move to the top level meaning a near full lockdown and the closure of non-essential shops. The First Minister has also not ruled out imposing the harshest ‘level four’ restrictions across the entire country, a move that would bring Scotland broadly into line with England’s four-week lockdown. However, Tim Allan, the President of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, warns today that a blanket national lockdown would be “monstrously unfair” to areas with low virus rates.
