Scotland braced for new Covid restrictions that could cost its economy millions

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to unveil a new wave of Covid restrictions for Scotland today that could cost its economy more than a billion pounds in the run up to Christmas.

The First Minister will announce this afternoon whether further measures are required in response to the growing outbreak of the Omicron variant.

The return of social distancing and limits on groups meeting indoors are among ideas being floated a day after the SNP health secretary Humza Yousaf said that tighter rules were ‘inevitable’. 

But schools are expected to stay open and Scotland’s vaccine passport scheme is not expected to be tightened beyond nightclub and large venues. 

Any move will further increase the pressure on Boris Johnson in England, where he faces a Tory rebellion over introducing mandatory face masks and vaccine passports for some venues, measures already in place in Scotland.

Scores of Conservatives have vowed to defy the government whip when new regulations rubber-stamping Covid passes for nightclubs and major events, mandatory vaccination for health staff, and mask use come before the Commons.

Dominic Raab risked inflaming the tensions in interviews this morning as he dismissed ‘overstated’ criticism about the measures to combat the Omicron strain. 

But the scale of the rebellion means the embattled PM will almost certainly have to rely on Labour to get the measures through – despite in theory having an 80-strong Commons majority. Several ministerial aides are threatening to quit rather than back the government.

Ministers are said to be examining plans for a further round of restrictions in England that would push it closer towards a lockdown and are sure to watch Ms Sturgeon’s announcement with interest and trepidation.

Meanwhile Britain’s booster drive to beat the Omicron super-variant has been mired in chaos after more than 4.4million attempts were made to book top-up shots on the NHS website and furious GPs warned they had run out of doses.

Health chiefs said 545,000 appointments were secured by 8pm last night, even after the website crashed because so many people logged on. This morning Britons were stuck in up to an hour long queues.

But GPs complained they would not have enough jabs for everyone after being given until 9am to order stocks to meet Boris Johnson’s December 31 ‘boosted or bust’ deadline.   

The First Minister will announce this afternoon whether further measures are required in response to the growing outbreak of the Omicron variant.

Any move could put pressure on Boris Johnson in England, where he faces a Tory rebellion over introducing mandatory face masks and vaccine passports for some venues, measures already in place in Scotland.

It comes a day after the SNP health secretary Humza Yousaf said that tighter rules were ‘inevitable’.

Current Covid cases in Scotland

Current cases in England

Scottish Tories have demanded a ‘cancellation compensation’ scheme be set up if hospitality venues like pubs and restaurants face fresh curbs at their busiest time of the year.

Leon Thompson, executive director of industry body UKHospitality Scotland, said businesses were already taking a massive hit due to existing rules. 

‘I have members quoting rates of cancellation of 30 to 100 per cent and they’re still coming in for events and gatherings due to take place in the coming days,’ he said.

‘This is devastating for businesses that need the income to keep going and to see them through the winter. 

‘The industry was initially looking at multi-million-pound losses but over the weekend that has become greater and taking in the supply chain we’re now looking at the losses rising to £1billion.’   

Shadow finance secretary Liz Smith said: ‘Scottish jobs will be at risk if small businesses lose out on thousands of pounds of vital revenue that they were expecting to receive.

‘This latest setback in the Covid situation is a bitter blow to businesses at one of their busiest times of the year. They need more support from the SNP, who so far seem to be trying to pass the buck.

‘Unlike small businesses, the SNP Government does not have a cash flow issue. There is money available right now in their accounts to establish an emergency cancellation compensation fund to protect jobs.

And speaking in advance of the Holyrood statement, Ms Sturgeon cautioned that there may be ‘targeted and proportionate’ measures introduced as a trade-off for allowing families to meet at Christmas. 

The First Minister is due to make a statement at Holyrood on Tuesday setting out any new measures as well as updating the Scottish Parliament on the booster vaccination programme.

She said: ‘We need to try to protect peoples’ ability to spend Christmas with their families, and I am personally hoping for a more normal Christmas than last year on behalf of everybody across the country.

‘But we need to balance that with the need to keep people as safe as possible in the run up to, and throughout, the winter and into 2022.

‘With Omicron, the virus has mutated and is now more transmissible than anything we have seen before – our estimation is that it will be the dominant strain in Scotland at some point this week.

‘We have to think of this as a race between vaccination and a virus that has just learned to run faster, so we are challenging ourselves to take steps to speed up getting booster jabs into peoples’ arms while considering what we can do to try to slow down the spread of the virus.

‘The most important step we can all take, alongside regular testing, remains to get vaccinated.

‘I know many have already booked their booster appointments, but I am aware others will have found it more difficult to get an appointment. Please keep trying – every effort is being made to build capacity, and more appointments are being created each day.

‘We are working round the clock with health boards to look at all options on how we could speed up vaccination – options including bringing in more vaccinators, supporting more hours at vaccination centres, bringing more facilities on stream, and offers of military support from the UK Government.

‘I am acutely aware of the impact this crisis has had on peoples’ lives already, and so any steps that need to be taken to slow the spread will be as targeted and proportionate as possible. Cabinet will consider the options available on Tuesday, after which I will set out more detail to Parliament.’

Scotland recorded 26 new cases of the Omicron variant on Monday, taking the overall number to 186, while a further 3,756 Covid-19 cases were confirmed.

Addressing MSPs last week, Ms Sturgeon stressed it was ‘important to keep the need for any additional protections under daily review’ because of Omicron which ‘may be significantly more transmissible than anything before’.

The First Minister said: ‘I do really hope we can avoid any further measures.

‘I cannot guarantee this however, I don’t think any responsible person in my position could ever guarantee this at this stage.’

She added it was ‘important to remain open to any proportionate measures’, such as a possible extension of vaccine passports.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Yousaf told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: ‘I think it’s inevitable that we will announce additional, protective measures.’

Ahead of the First Minister’s coronavirus statement to Holyrood, the Scottish Conservatives reiterated calls for mass vaccination centres.

Party leader Douglas Ross said: ‘For more than a month, the Scottish Conservatives have been calling for the reopening of mass vaccination centres to speed up the vaccine booster rollout.’

Mr Ross said speeding up the booster jag rollout is ‘likely to be the crucial difference between avoiding or introducing stricter restrictions’, and added: ‘The rapid rollout of mass vaccine centres and more drop-in clinics is now a necessity.

‘It is mission critical that the booster jag programme accelerates to win the race between the vaccine and the virus.’

Scottish Labour’s health and Covid recovery spokeswoman, Jackie Baillie, said: ‘It’s clear we are in the most fragile position we’ve been in for months.

‘We need to take the action needed now to save lives, protect livelihoods, and keep restrictions to a minimum this Christmas.

‘This means ramping up the booster programme urgently to meet our new target, equipping Test and Protect to deal with the expected tsunami of cases we are facing, and supporting hard-hit businesses through this challenging time. 

Ahead of the First Minister’s coronavirus statement to Holyrood, the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross reiterated calls for mass vaccination centres

‘We can’t shy away from difficult decisions if they are necessary – but all rules must be clear, consistent, and firmly rooted in the evidence.’

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘After pestering the Health Secretary for months we finally have an ambitious target for ramping up booster vaccines, but we also need to see frontline NHS staff given the additional resources they need, guarantees of financial protections for small businesses, particularly in hospitality, and measures to ensure that everyone who needs it can access mental health support during these difficult times.’

He also warned against any extension of Scotland’s vaccine passport scheme to cover more venues, claiming they ‘give people a potentially fatal false confidence’.